The Time Child
by DanniFielding
Summary: Danielle Fielding is given a toy Vortex Manipulator for Christmas, and her whole life is turned upside down as she is shot from one part of the Doctor's timeline to another, spanning three incarnations. Follow her adventures, her ups and downs as she lives out everyones dream. She gets to travel with the Doctor. 11/OC, slight 10/OC, vague 9/OC if you squint REALLY hard.
1. The Runaway Bride

_Hello everyone! This is my own attempt at a long Doctor Who fanfiction, rather than just a drabble based on an episode. I hope you'll all be kind, unless it is actually rather crap and then feel free to let me know :) And the cover picture is temporary, I think. It may change if I get around to it.  
_

_~0~0~0~_

For as long as she could remember, which was maybe the last 17 of her 22 years of life, Danni had always loved Christmas. Not just the day, although it was always fantastic getting presents, but the entire Christmas period. This year it had actually snowed, in the UK, on Christmas. Well, alright, it was maybe a day or four beforehand, but it was the closest she had ever seen and she couldn't stop the grin on her face as she trudged through the couple of inches on the floor as she headed to her best friend Claire's house to exchange presents before Claire headed down south to her parents house for Christmas and Danni went slightly north to her parents. The joys of being a university student meant that you were now considered old enough to cook your own food and wash your own clothes unless you went home to your parents, so no one ever stayed in the vicinity unless absolutely necessary. She knocked on the front door of the red brick house and it flung open to show Claire still in her pajamas, blonde hair sticking up in every direction, in contrast to Danni who was in her big coat and matching scarf and glove combo with her deep red hair sticking out from underneath her woolly hat in pigtails.

"I am so sorry, I was up all last night because next door decided to have a bloody party without warning. Again!" She screamed around the door frame at her bothersome next door neighbours and Danni shrugged.

"No problem. Let me in, it's freezing." Claire let her in and she took her coat and shoes off before heading to the front room and flopping down on the well-loved sofa. Claire came in shortly afterwards and they smiled widely as they got right to business and handed each other a small gift bag each.

"So here it is, Merry Christmas!" Danni sang out loudly as she pulled out a box-shaped present. It was too fat to be a DVD or book and she tore into it with enthusiasm. Claire did the same with her small present and squealed at the silver necklace Danni had bought her.

"Oh my god I love it!" She cried as Danni opened hers to see a Doctor Who box and she laughed happily at it.

"You know the way to my heart." She complimented her friend as she gazed down at River Song, who was looking back up at her with a smirk. Inside the dark blue box was a faux leather Vortex Manipulator, with built in calculator and time and date display. She ripped it out of the box and placed it on her wrist.

"Where on earth did you get this?"

"Ebay, of course. I think it came over from America. It must of, it took like a month to arrive. I didn't think it was coming at all to be honest, that's why there's something else in there." Claire explained and Danni grabbed her other present which turned out to be a child's 11th Doctor dress-up kit. She took the red bow tie and placed it on.

"This is the best thing ever!" The friends hugged and Danni helped Claire put her necklace on and they sat down and turned to TV on to watch the normal Christmas-time daytime television.

_~0~0~0~_

As the credits of Toy Story 2 began scrolling down the screen Danni stretched and turned to the blonde, who was curled up on the opposite side of the sofa.

"So, Miss Claire Watson, now what?" Danni asked, placing a faux posh accent on her friends name.

"Dunno. I'm thirsty though, what time is it Miss Danielle Fielding?" She replied in the same style. Danni flipped open the toy on her wrist and showed it dramatically to her.

"Well, this is flashing 12 am because I haven't set it yet, and personally I think 12 am means only one thing." They both threw their arms up in celebration.

"Snowballs!" They cried in unison and Claire jumped up from the sofa.

"I'll bring the stuff!" Danni smiled warmly as she watched her friend run out of the room. They were only visiting their families for a week or so, but she was going to miss her best friend. She looked down at the Vortex Manipulator, poking a few of the buttons to try and change the time and date but all that happened was she found out 2312 minus 2012 was 300, which she did actually know. She frowned and looked around.

"Where's the box for this thing? I want to set the time on it." She called through to the kitchen.

"Down the side of the sofa, I had to move it cause it was digging into my back." Claire replied and she pulled it up and took out the instructions. After flipping through the manual to try and find the English instructions she opened it up and did as it said. Press the red button, type in the date first then the time and press the red button again. She typed in the 25th of December 2012 and grinned to herself.

"Oh I wish it could be Christmas everyday!" She sang loudly and Claire's laugh floated through. She then pressed the button on the remote to bring up the time on the television. 14.40; that was typed into the pad and she looked at it with a thoughtful frown before checking the instructions to clear the screen then typed in 14.40 on the 25th of December 2006.

"I'm just off to 2006, won't be a moment." She called into the kitchen.

"Bring back some lemonade with you. I can't find any anywhere." Claire called back.

"Will do." She giggled to herself and forcefully slammed her finger onto the red button. She gasped then groaned in pain as it felt like she had been punched in the stomach. Her vision went white with the pain and she curled up as she felt herself drop to the ground with a thud.

_~0~0~0~_

Danni winced as a female voice rang through her head, waking her sharply up from her sleep. She hated being woken up, mornings were never something she wanted to live through. She opened her eyes and found herself not in her bed, but on a metal floor in a room she could not place, but seemed familiar.

"Who are you?!" Danni sat up and saw a ginger woman in a wedding dress screaming furious at a man in a pinstriped suit. Not just a ginger woman, Catherine Tate. Catherine Tate was stood in front of her screaming at David Tennant.

"But..." He looked around the console room dumbfounded.

"Where am I?" Catherine shouted again.

"What?" He seemed to be rather confused and she smiled at the look on his face. She had no idea what was going on, but she loved this part.

"What the hell is this place?"

"What?" Danni pushed herself up, maybe she got an electric shock from the toy. That must be it, she's unconscious. She laughed in relief, oh thank god for that. The pair turned to look at her and David grinned happy at her.

"Danni, are you alright?" He rushed over and helped her steady herself as she seemed to be rather off balance.

"Yes, yes I'm fine. This is just the best dream ever." She replied with a grin.

"Where were you? Did you just come from the 1950's?" He asked hopefully and she laughed.

"No, sorry mate. 2012 through and through here. I'm guessing I'm heading back there in a few moments when Claire finds me on the floor unconscious." She motioned to Catherine who just seemed to be getting increasingly more angry at the fact that she was being ignored, "Don't let me interrupt you, David. Carry on, I love this episode." He looked her up and down, taking in every detail.

"Is this your first time here?" He finally asked and she nodded.

"Unfortunately it is." He closed his eyes as if he was in pain then they shot open and he looked at her confused.

"Did you just call me David?" Danni shook her head in exasperation and pointed behind her.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" He jumped in realisation and span back around to face Catherine, who stared back at him aggressively.

"You can't do that, I wasn't... we're in flight! That is- that is physically impossible! How did-?" He stuttered out as he seemed to fall back into the situation and he looked around looking for an explanation. She joined him, but saw nothing but the interior of the TARDIS console room. No cameramen or lighting directors or anyone else but themselves. She was obviously dreaming she was actually there, not at the filming. So these were her own dream Doctor and Donna. Doctor-Donna even; she giggled to herself.

"Tell me where I am. I demand you tell me right now - where am I?" Donna cried agitated. Danni couldn't blame her, she was getting married after all. The Doctor just stared at her as if it was obvious.

"Inside the TARDIS." Danni shook her head, even if she hadn't seen the episode she could see where this was heading.

"The what?" Donna replied.

"The TARDIS." He repeated.

"The what?"

"The TARDIS!" The Doctor turned back to the controls of the ship.

"The what?"

"It's called the TARDIS." Danni chipped in, wanting to get the most out of this situation while it lasted. She couldn't wait to tell Claire about this, she was have a fit that she hadn't experienced it. Donna glared at her angrily

"That's not even a proper word. You're just saying things." She exclaimed.

"How did you get in here?" The Doctor tried again, still trying to work out how she had suddenly appeared in the TARDIS.

"Well, obviously, when you kidnapped me. Who was it? Who's paying you? Is it Nerys? Oh, my God, she's finally got me back. This has got Nerys written all over it." The Doctor turned to watch her rant, looking her up and down as if the answer would just pop out of her.

"Who the hell is Nerys?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Your best friend." She snapped back.

"No, that's her." He pointed to Danni, who blinked at him in confusion. He shot her a grin then turned back to Donna, "Hold on, wait a minute - what're you dressed like that for?"

"I'm going ten pin bowling," She told him sarcastically, "Why do you think, Dumbo? I was halfway up the aisle!" The Doctor began fiddling with the console as Danni watched Donna begin to rant.

"I've been waiting all my life for this. I was just seconds away! And then you- I dunno, you two drugged me or something!" The Doctor looked startled.

"Hang on a minute, I haven't done anything!" Danni exclaimed, "I'm just here for the ride." But Donna wasn't listening.

"We're having the police on you! Me and my husband - as soon as he is my husband - we're gonna sue the living backside off ya!" The Doctor didn't reply and Danni didn't really know what to say as Donna noticed the TARDIS doors. She rushed over to them and threw them open, despite the Doctor's protests. Donna gaped as she saw the supernova they were floating around. Danni frowned at that before letting out a noise of realisation. He had just spoken to Rose. The Doctor approaches her calmly.

"You're in space. Outer Space. This is my... space-ship. It's called the 'TARDIS'." He explained gently as Danni walked over to stare out at the burning sun.

"How am I breathing?" Donna asked in awe.

"The TARDIS is protecting us." Danni replied without thinking.

"Who are you?" She asked again, this time calmer.

"I'm the Doctor, and she's Danni. You?"

"Donna." He looked her up and down.

"Human?" He inquired.

"Yeah. Is that optional?"

"Well, it is for me." Donna glanced around at them, casting her gaze up and down the two individuals, but was obviously not surprised anymore.

"You're an alien." She stated.

"Yeah." He simply replied. She took a moment to process everything, pondering on what to say next.

"It's freezing with these doors open." She settled on and he slammed the doors shut then ran back over to the console.

"But I don't understand it and I understand everything! This- this can't happen! There is no way a Human Being can lock itself onto the TARDIS and transport itself inside. It must be..." He grabbed a device Danni recognised from the doctor's and used to it look into Donna's eyes, who stood there silent and confused.

"Impossible. Some sort of subatomic connection? Something in the temporal field? Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell. Maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix. Maybe a genetic-" Finally having enough Donna slapped him soundly across the face almost sending him flying, causing Danni to bark out a laugh involuntarily. She chucked her hand over her mouth to silence anymore chuckles that may have escaped.

"What was that for?" He asked indignantly.

"Get me to the church!" She yelled angrily in reply.

"Right! Fine! I don't want you here anyway! Where is this wedding?" He replied annoyed, dropping the tool and heading back to the console, flipping a couple of things and paused ready to type.

"Saint Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System." She snapped out as she walked away from him around the console. She trailed off as she spotted something on the railings. Danni turned and almost groaned, it was Rose's top, the one she left behind. Donna snatched it up and stormed over.

"I knew it. Acting all innocent." She sneered accusingly, showing him the blouse, "I'm not the first, am I? How many women have you abducted?" Danni felt her heart tighten slightly as he looked up at the garment with a confused look, before taking it in and his face fell.

"That's my friend's." He replied forlornly.

"Where is she, then? Popped out for a space walk?" She asked sarcastically.

"She's gone." Donna just looked more enraged than comforted by his answer.

"Gone where?" She was obviously scared at her situation, Danni couldn't blame her but her attitude towards him was starting to grate on her nerves. He had just lost Rose, after all.

"I lost her." He replied after a pause.

"Well, you can hurry up and lose me." They both watched him for a moment and Donna suddenly seemed to realise that there was something more in his answer than he was letting on.

"How do you mean, 'lost'?" She asked, a little bit more sensitively. The Doctor stared at her then storms towards her. Donna looked slightly scared as he snatched Rose's top off her then made his way towards the door.

"Right! Chiswick." Danni, not really knowing what to do just braced herself against the railing.

_~0~0~0~_

Donna stormed out of the TARDIS as they landed, looking around at the tall, nondescript buildings. The Doctor followed behind her, and Danni slowly behind him. She looked upwards, it all seemed so real. She really should have woken up by now. Feeling the chill of the winter air, she rubbed her arms to try and gain some body heat.

"I said 'Saint Mary's'. What sort of Martian are you?" She snapped, "Where's this?" The Doctor turned and faced the TARDIS, stroking it almost tenderly.

"Something's wrong with her..." He replied concerned for the spaceship. Donna rolled her eyes at him. "It's like she's... recalibrating!" Danni stepped out of the way as he ran into the TARDIS, "She's digesting." Danni sighed then turned to watch Donna as she noticed the small exterior compared to the very large room they had just exited.

"It's alright, you know? It's supposed to be like that." Danni told her gently, but she just shot her a look of disbelief and began pacing around the TARDIS, touching the wooden walls as if she didn't believe it was there.

"Donna? You've really gotta think. Is there anything that might've caused this?" The Doctor called from inside, "Anything you might've done? Any sort of alien contacts? I can't let you go wandering off in case you're dangerous. I mean, have you... have you seen lights in the sky? Or... did you touch something? Something- something different? Something strange? Something made out of a sort of metal or... who're you getting married to?" Donna chucked her hands over her mouth in horror at what she had just seen. Danni stepped closer to her but she just turned and ran the other way.

"Donna! Wait!" Danni cried and began chasing her, the Doctor quickly falling into step next to them after hearing her cry.

"Donna." The Doctor tried, but she shook her head.

"Leave me alone. I just want to get married." She pleaded.

"Come back to the TARDIS." He half asked, half commanded.

"No way. That box is too... weird." She replied.

"It's... bigger on the inside, that's all." Danni told her.

"Oh! That's all?" She said sarcastically then sighed and checked her watch, tears forming in her eyes, "Ten past three. I'm gonna miss it."

"You can phone them. Tell them where you are." He suggested.

"How do I do that?" She asked, distraught.

"Haven't you got a mobile?" Donna stopped suddenly causing the pair to stop next to her. She looked up at the Doctor incredulously.

"I'm in my wedding dress. It doesn't have pockets. Who has pockets? Have you ever seen a bride with pockets? When I went to my fitting, do you think I said "Alison, the one thing I forgot to say is give me pockets"?!" She ranted at him.

"... This man you're marrying - what's his name?" The Doctor asked after a pause.

"Lance." Donna replied, a dreamy look on her face.

"Good luck Lance." He replied and Donna glared at him, almost shaking with rage

"Oi!" She exclaimed, pointing at him aggressively, "No stupid Martian is gonna stop me from getting married. To hell with you!" She huffed then turned and ran off.

"I'm- I'm not... I'm not... I'm not from Mars." He said after her feebly before turning to Danni, looking down at her with a serious look on his face. She blinked back, shocked. She expected him to just run after Donna like he did in the show.

"Are you okay?" He asked her and she shrugged.

"I'm just getting a bit worried. I thought I'd've woken up by now." She confessed, there seemed no point in lying to him.

"Woken up?" He asked, confused.

"You know? Cause I'm unconscious? This is all a dream." She replied and he suddenly looked really apologetic and she felt herself go cold, "It is a dream, isn't it?" She insisted. He opened his mouth then seemed to realise he was doing something.

"Donna." He stated and ran after her.

"No, wait!" Danni cried, "Doctor, please." She ran off after him. They reached Donna as she tried to call down a taxi in an attempt to get to the church, however it just drove right past them.

"Why's his light on?" She exclaimed annoyed as they began running down the street again. The Doctor spotted another one and pointed to it.

"There's another one!" He ran forward to try and slow it down as Donna chucked her arms out in front of it.

"Taxi!" But he just drove straight past the strange trio, "Oi!"

"There's one!" He ran forward, waving to get the attention, but again it just drove past them.

"Do you have this effect on everyone? Why aren't they stopping?" He asked, perplexed.

"They think I'm in fancy dress." She said uncertainly as a taxi drove past with the driver making a drinking motion at them.

"Stay off the scotch darlin'!" He called and Donna chucked her arms into the air.

"They think I'm drunk." Danni winced as two young men drove past in their blue car.

"You're fooling no-one, mate!" They called and Donna looked utterly shocked.

"They think I'm in drag!" The Doctor looked her up and down to see if she did look like she was in drag, but Danni hit him on the arm.

"Oi, rude." She scolded him but he just shot her a cheeky grin and she tried to suppress her own.

"Hold on, hold on." He said in defeat then put his fingers between his lips and whistled, causing the two women to cover their ears at the high-pitched noise. A taxi stopped and they all climbed in; Donna, The Doctor then Danni,

"Saint Mary's in Chiswick, just off Hayden Road. It's an emergency, I'm getting married! Just... hurry up!" Donna told the driver quickly.

"You know it'll cost you, sweetheart? Double rates today." The driver replied, looking at the trio through his rear view mirror.

"Oh, my God!" She turned to the Doctor, "Have you got any money?"

"Um... no. And you?" He replied.

"Pockets!" Donna exclaimed, motioning down at her dress. They looked at Danni who just threw her arms up.

"Hey, don't look at me, I'm just here for the ride." She told them. The taxi skidded to a halt and the three were unceremoniously chucked out. The Doctor slammed the door shut as Donna made a rude gesture at the driver.

"And that goes double for your mother!" She yelled angrily as the taxi drove off.

"I'll have him. I've got his number. I'll have him. Talk about the Christmas Spirit." She ranted as the Doctor looked around in slight surprise.

"Is it Christmas?" He asked.

"Well, duh. Maybe not on Mars, but here it's Christmas Eve." Danni looked down at her Vortex Manipulator, opening the flap to see the 25th December 2006 on the screen, before it flickered to the 24th and back to the 25th in a constant loop.

"There's something wrong with this thing." She stated.

"You have no idea." The Doctor replied under his breath and she glared up at him.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" She asked angrily.

"You'll find out soon enough." He replied and she poked him hard in the arm.

"No, you listen here Spaceman. I'm getting really freaked out now, this should not be happening to me. You tell me right now what is going on."

"I will, but not yet." She shook her head.

"Oh no, now mister." He placed a hand on her arm in an attempt to calm her down.

"Let's just get Donna home, then I'll explain. I promise." he told her with a calming tone and she relaxed slightly, nodding.

"Alright. But you promised, and I expect you to tell me." He nodded and made two crosses on his chest, one over each of his hearts and she couldn't help but grin at his cuteness. Donna suddenly hit him on the arm, much gentler than maybe she would have before.

"Phone box!" She told them and they all rushed towards it.

"We can reverse the charges!" Donna panted slightly as they ran, hitching her dress up so she didn't trip over it.

"How come you're getting married on Christmas Eve?" The Doctor asked, intrigued.

"Can't bear it. I hate Christmas. Honeymoon in Morocco. Sunshine – lovely." As they reach the phone box the Doctor holds the door open for Donna, who picked up the receiver. With only enough room for the pair, Danni stood outside suddenly feeling left out and leant against the wall next to the box.

"What's the operator? I've not done this in years. What do you dial? 100?" She asked panicking. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and buzzed it at the machine.

"Just- just call the direct."

"What did you do?" She demanded.

"Something- Martian." He settled on, "Now, phone. I'll get money!" He ran off and left Danni watching Donna try and ring someone at the wedding.

"Ohh, answer the phone!" She told the person on the over end of the line.

"Mum, get off the phone and listen. I'm in- ," She looked around the street, "Oh, my God- I dunno where I am! It's... it's a street. And there's WH Smith... but it's definitely Earth." She assured her mothers answering machine and Danni giggled slightly at her. Donna shot her a dirty look as she slammed the receiver down and stepped out and approached a woman in the street.

"Excuse me... I'm begging you. I'm getting married, I really am and I'm late and I just need to borrow a tenner and I'll pay you back I promise and it's Christmas." She begged, almost hysterical.

"Look, just wait for the Doctor. He'll be back in a sec with money." Danni insisted but Donna ignored her and, hand full of money, called for a taxi which pulled up next to her. Danni sighed as she watched them converse as the Doctor ran back to them.

"Donna!" He cried after her but the taxi just drove off. Danni tapped his arm.

"I think it's worse than you think." She told him, pointing at the Santa's playing trumpets behind them. He watched as they move to hold the trumpets as if they were weapons. Automatically she reached and pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket, pointed it at the cash machine and money shoots out in a shower, causing the diversion necessary for them to run back to the TARDIS. He grabbed her hand and dragged her in the right direction.

"Are you sure you've not been here before?" He asked her and she shook her head.

"Never." She shot him a grin and he returned it.

_~0~0~0~_

_There we are, the first chapter :) With Danni still settling in, nothing too major is happening but how does the Doctor know her? :) It's probably dead obvious, but I hope you enjoyed it so far._

_I'm aiming for a weekly update, but depending on where the mood takes me, it may be longer between them. I have quite a lot already written out, and so I'm just playing catch-up on the rest._


	2. The Murderous Christmas Decorations

_I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed, and added this story to their favourites lists and followed and just took the time to read this. It means a lot to me :) I hope you like the next chapter :)_

___~0~0~0~_

Danni watched as the Doctor took off after the taxi, smacking the TARDIS console with his hands and, at one point, a rubber mallet.

"Maybe that's why she won't behave. I wouldn't like being hit by a mallet either." She pointed out.

"You're not ganging up on me again." He replied and she frowned, "We just need to... Ah ha." He tied a piece a string around what appeared to be a random control then stumbled over to the door with the string between his teeth. Rolling her eyes she let herself be flung towards the door frame, clinging to the side of the machine. She saw Donna stare back at them terrified, hands pressed up against the window.

"Open the door!" The Doctor yelled at her over the roaring noise of the motorway.

"Do you what?" She strained to hear Donna through the glass.

"Open the door!" The Doctor repeated.

"I can't, it's locked!" The Doctor struggled to pull out his screwdriver but he managed to unlock the door. Donna rolled the window down.

"Santa's a robot." She cried, assuming they didn't know.

"Donna, open the door." He told her again.

"What for?" she asked.

"You've got to jump!" he told her. Danni watched the driver slightly turn his head as if he had heard this.

"I'm not bleedin' flip jumping, I'm supposed to be getting married!" She exclaimed shrilly just as the driver decided to pull away from the TARDIS. The black cab spewed black smoke from the back as it overtook the next couple of cars, the driver pushing it to it's limits.

"Hold on!" The Doctor shouted at Danni before he pulled on the string, causing her to yell in surprise as the console seemed to explode in random places. The TARDIS began speeding up and bounced on the roof of a car as it span down the road before catching up to the black cab. Danni shot the driver a wave of apology around the side of the TARDIS wall, hoping his car was okay before turning back to see the Doctor disable the robot.

"Listen to me - you've got to jump." He insisted.

"I'm not jumping on a motorway." Donna replied stubbornly.

"Whatever that thing is, it needs you. And whatever it needs you for, it's not good. Now, come on!" He yelled.

"I'm in my wedding dress!" She pointed out.

"Yes! You look lovely! Come on!" He told her exasperated. Donna positioned herself to jump and the Doctor held out his arms to catch her.

"I can't do it." Donna finally said, the fear she felt flowing in her tone.

"Trust me." He implored.

"Is that what you said to her? Your friend? The one you lost? Did she trust you?" She asked.

"Yes, she did. With her entire life. And she is not dead. She is so alive. Now, jump!" Danni cried happily, holding her hand out to show her support for the woman, who screamed and jumped, landing on top of the Doctor and toppling him onto the floor of the TARDIS. The doors slammed closed and Danni felt the TARDIS take off in flight.

_~0~0~0~_

They landed on top of one of London's many landmarks, the TARDIS protesting harshly to the abuse it had just suffered. Donna stepped out first, looking at the skyline in front of her before she looked at her watch as the Doctor tried to extinguish the fires currently billowing from the TARDIS console. She looked over the city in sad resignation and walked closer to the end of the building to get a better view. Knowing that they had been too late, Danni joined her and placed a sympathetic hand on her arm, shooting her a sad smile. Donna returned it with one of her own as the Doctor walked over to them.

"The funny thing is, for a spaceship, she doesn't really do that much flying. We'd better give her a couple of hours. You all right?" He asked, seeing her distraught look. Donna shrugged.

"Doesn't matter." She replied.

"Did we miss it?" He asked quietly and she nodded.

"Yeah." She sighed out.

"Well, you can book another date..." He suggested.

"Course we can."

"Still got the honeymoon..." Danni added to try and cheer her up.

"It's just a holiday now." She pointed out.

"Yeah... yeah... sorry." The Doctor apologised.

"It's not your fault." She told him with a faint smile on her lips.

"Oh! That's a change." He said with a little laugh. They all stood in silence before Donna took a breath and turned to the Doctor.

"Wish we had a time machine. Then we could go back and get it right." She told him, almost hopefully.

"... Yeah, yeah. But..." Donna looked up at him eagerly "even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline. Apparently." Her look turned distinctly suspicious before she sat down on the edge of the building, dangling her legs over the edge. Danni sat down on one side and looked up at the Doctor, motioning to Donna with her head pointedly. He removed his jacket, getting the hint, and draped it over her shoulders before sitting down on her other side.

"God, you're skinny. This wouldn't fit a rat." Danni giggled lightly and he mock glared at her, before jumping slightly and reaching into his pocket.

"Oh and you'd better put this on." He pulled out a gold band and showed it to her.

"Oh, do you have to rub it in?" Donna moaned.

"Those creatures can trace you. This is a bio-damper. Should keep you hidden." He explained seriously before taking her hand and slipping it onto her ring finger.

"With this ring, I thee bio-damp." He said with a pop on the 'p'.

"For better or for worse." She retorted and he smiled at her.

"So, come on then. Robot Santas - what are they for?" She eventually asked, breaking the silence.

"Ah, your basic robo-scavenger. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They're trying to blend in." He explained as Danni leant in closer; she was beginning to feel left out again.

"He met them last Christmas." She added, the Doctor shooting her a confused frown as Donna looked at him, intrigued. She replied by sticking her tongue out at him.

"Why, what happened then?" She asked.

"... Great big spaceship? Hovering over London? You didn't notice?" He asked amazed. She turned to look back over the city.

"I had a bit of a hangover." She dismissed. The Doctor looked incredulous and turned to Danni, who just shrugged so he looked over the skyline.

"I spent Christmas Day just over there," He nodded to his left, "the Powell Estate. With this..." He trailed off as he tried to form the words around the obviously deep pain he felt. "family. My friend, she had this family. Well, they were..." He paused as he thought about them all; about Rose and Jackie and Mickey before breaking himself out of it, "Still... gone now."

"Your friend... who was she?" Donna asked gently, trying to get him to open up.

"Question is, what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you?" He replied instead and the moment was over. Danni sighed sadly as he looked Donna over, "And how did you get inside the TARDIS? I don't know..." He sighed.

"What's your job?" He asked suddenly, pulling his screwdriver out of his jacket pocket.

"I'm a secretary." Donna replied, unsure how it was relevant.

"It's weird, I mean - you're not special," Danni made a noise in protest at this, but he ignored her, "you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important..." Donna looked at him indignant.

"This friend of yours - just before she left, did she punch you in the face?" She whacked the screwdriver away from her, "Stop bleeping me!" He did and they turned away from each other, both of them sulking. Danni rolled her eyes at the pair.

"What kind of secretary?" She asked, trying the get the conversation back on track.

"I'm at H.C. Clements. It's where I met Lance. I was temping." A dreamy smile broke out on her face as she thought about her fiancé. Danni smiled sadly, she hated what happened to Donna.

"I mean, it was all a bit posh really. I'd spent the last two years at a double glazing firm. Well, I thought - I'm never gonna fit in here. And then he made me a coffee. I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee. And Lance - he's the head of HR! He don't need to bother with me! But he was nice, he was funny. And it turns out he thought everyone else was really snotty too. So that's how it started, me and him - one cup of coffee. That was it." She explained.

"When was this?"

"Six months ago." He looked the tiniest bit shocked at her answer.

"Bit quick, to get married..."

"Well... he insisted." She replied quickly and Danni snorted. Both stared at her but she just shook her head and motioned for Donna to continue, who did with a suspicious look at her.

"And he nagged... and he nagged me... And he just wore me down and then finally, I just gave in." Seeing no explanation in their engagement, he tried a different angle.

"What does H.C. Clements do?" He asked.

"Oh, security systems, you know... entry codes, ID cards - that sort of thing. If you ask me, it's a posh name for 'locksmiths'." She told him.

"Keys..." he muttered to himself, looking past the landscape as he mused over the company.

"Anyway, enough of my CV. Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is gonna be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian-boy." He looked at her, opening and closing his mouth a few times as he trying to find a way to explain his origins to her.

"He's not from Mars." Danni interjected and even though Donna nodded, both of them knew that it didn't matter to her. The Doctor stood up and helped her up as Danni sighed, annoyed they had to stand up when she was just getting comfy. He helped her up too before chucking an arm around her shoulders and squeezing tightly. She smiled up at him as he hugged her to his side as they walked towards the TARDIS.

"Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's gonna be heartbroken." She groaned and Danni looked over at her.

"I'm sure they'll be fine as soon as they know you're okay." She replied.

_~0~0~0~_

Merry Christmas Everyone was blaring out of the speakers dotted around the reception room. People were dancing and drinking and having a general good time as the three entered. Danni grimaced, it was such a horrible thing to do. Have the reception without the bride, runaway or not. The crowd slowly stopped dancing and the music was paused as everyone turned to Donna, who looked livid and she folded her arms.

"You had the reception without me?" She snapped out as her would-be husband stepped closer.

"Donna... what happened to ya?" he asked, sounding very convincing Danni thought. She hated that she knew she couldn't say anything, even if this was a dream. Which is was. She couldn't go messing with time, could she? Oh, she didn't know, from what she had learnt watching this show the rules of time travel were numerous and contradictory. In any case, she doubted Donna would believe her; it had to come from the man himself.

"You had the reception without me?" She barked and everyone fell silent again.

"Hello! I'm the Doctor." The Doctor introduced himself. Danni pinched the bridge of her nose in disbelief and Donna turned to him.

"They had the reception without me."

"Yes, I gathered." He turned back to the crowd staring at them.

"Well, it was all paid for - why not?" A blonde woman snapped out.

"Thank you, Nerys."

"Ahh, so that's Nerys." Danni whispered to the Doctor, who nodded.

"Well, what were we supposed to do? I got your silly little message in the end - "I'm on Earth"? Very funny. What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick because I'd love to know-" Her mother ranted at her and soon everyone else had joined in. Donna looked between them all as they seemed to close in, looking more and more overwhelmed until she bursted into tears. Suddenly everyone was sympathetic and she was pulled in for a hug by her fiancé. Everyone clapped the couple as Donna winked at the pair, showing she was fine and knew exactly what she was doing. The Doctor smirked at her and Danni clapped, thoroughly impressed.

Danni span around on one of the bar stools with a drink of lemonade in her hand. Donna was dancing with everyone else and the Doctor was watching her with a smile on his face. He turned and smiled at Danni as she bobbed along to the music.

"Why don't you go dance?" He asked her over the music and she shook her head.

"Nah, I wanna watch you be all smart. That man there," she motioned to a guy a couple of people down from them, "has a mobile phone. Why don't you check that?"

"How is it you always know what I'm about to do?" He asked and she just smirked as he went over and asked to borrow his phone. The man handed it over, albeit rather reluctantly, and the Doctor moved back over to her. He put his glasses on and she smiled. She loved his glasses, they were his 'I'm being clever' signal. He typed in the name of Donna's workplace into the generic search engine before checking to see if anyone was watching. He then soniced the device to improve the speed of the internet and the words 'Sole Prop. Torchwood' were displayed on the screen. He looked around the room, already suspicious before catching a man dipping a blonde and a lump caught in his throat. Danni, seeing his distress, placed a hand on his arm and he turned to face her and she shot him a sad smile before hugging him quickly.

"She's okay. She's not dead. Remember that." She whispered into his ear and he took a deep breath to calm himself and he turned away, his gaze falling on the cameraman filming the reception. He grabbed her hand and dragged her through the crowd up to the man.

"Were you at the church?" He asked and the man nodded. As if he knew what the Doctor wanted he took out a tape and placed it into the camera to replay it for him.

"I taped the whole thing - they've all had a look. They said 'sell it to You've Been Framed'. I said 'more like the News'. Here we are..." He hit the play button and the picture zoomed into a blissful looking Donna walking down the aisle, before she suddenly disintegrated into golden particles screaming.

"Can't be! Play it again?" He asked and the cameraman did.

"Clever, mind! Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping." He admitted as the Doctor watched the screen, looking increasingly concerned.

"But that looks like... Huon Particles!"

"What's that?"

"That's impossible, that's... ancient! Huon energy doesn't exist anymore, not for billions of years! So old that..." They both looked at Donna as his eyes widened in realisation.

"... it can't be hidden by a bio-damper!" They both took off towards a window, seeing the Santa's approaching the building. They rushed back to Donna, who is still dancing oblivious. He grabbed her by the arm and stopped her dancing.

"Donna, they've found you."

"But you said I was safe." She protested as he glanced around the room, analysing it for the best route for escape and to save everyone.

"The bio-damper doesn't work. We've got to get everyone out." Danni explained slightly more calmly to try and not frighten her. Donna glanced around at all the people.

"Oh, my God - it's all my family..." She trailed off, horrified.

"Out the back door!" They both run towards the back exit but knowing that it wasn't an option Danni quietly went up to one of the Christmas trees where a couple of kids were playing with the ornaments.

"Hey, what are you lot doing over here when there's cake over there?" She asked them playfully. They all looked at each other then ran off in the direction she was pointing as the Doctor and Donna ran back into the room. The Doctor ran over to another window and Donna sees what he spotted; more Santa's.

"We're trapped." He turned to find the exits, trying to work out the best way to get everyone out when his gaze fell upon the tree Danni was stood by.

"Christmas trees..." He whispered.

"What about them?" Donna asked.

"They kill." He ran into the crowd.

"Get away from the tree!" He shouted, trying to get people to listen to him.

"Don't touch the trees!" Donna backed him up, trying to move them into the centre of the room.

"Get away from the Christmas trees, everyone get away from them!"

"Out! Lance, tell them!" She called to her fiancé for help, but everyone just stared at them incredulous at their behaviour.

"Stay away from the tree!" The Doctor commanded.

"Oh, for God's sakes, the man's an idiot! Why? What's a Christmas tree gonna... oh!" Donna's mum laughed out, annoyed, but she trailed off as the baubles floated away from their tree and began bobbing around in the air. The Doctor and Danni eyed them distrustfully but the crowd seemed amazed by the little show they are putting on, until they start slamming into the floor and causing explosions. The crowd dispersed, screaming and running for cover and Danni grabbed Donna's hand and dragged her to an over-turned table.

"Stay here." She told her before running back to the Doctor. The almost-bride was too scared to argue with the younger woman and did as she was told, dragging Lance underneath with her. The Doctor and Danni hid behind the DJ's table, peering over the side as the Doctor decided on his next move. Rolling her eyes, Danni grabbed the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and stood up.

"Oi! Santa! Word of advice: if you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver..." She picked up the microphone, flipping it the right way around before holding it up to her mouth, "... don't let him near the sound system." She shoved the sonic screwdriver into the hole just as she had seen him do a hundred times on the television and set it off, causing a horrific high-pitched noise to come out of every speaker. She clutched her free hand onto the ear nearest the speakers as everyone else did the same to try and dull the noise. The Santa's began to shake and fall apart as the sonic vibrations ran through the mechanisms and they landed in a heap on the floor. She removed the screwdriver and smiled with a bit of a wince at the Doctor.

"I always wanted to do that." she confessed and passed it back to the Doctor. She then ran over to the pile of broken Santa's and picked up the control as he skidded to the floor and picked up one of the heads.

"Look at that - remote control for the decorations," He showed the two women the device, "but there's a second remote control for the robots." He flipped it over and examined the bottom, "They're not scavengers anymore. I think someone's taken possession."

"Never mind all that, you're a doctor - people have been hurt." Donna told him, trying to get him to help.

"Nah, they wanted you alive, look," He picked up a bauble and chucked it at Donna, who caught it, "They're not active now."

"All I'm saying - you could help." She insisted.

"Gotta think of the bigger picture... there's still a signal!" He jumped off and ran out of the room. Danni glanced at Donna, who hitched up her dress to follow him when her mother called her.

"Donna... who is he? Who is that man?" She asked, obviously scared at everything that had happened. Donna stared at her mother, not knowing what to say and Danni gently touched her arm. She seemed to make up her mind and the two women took off after the Doctor, leaving her family and fiancé in their wake. They caught up with him outside as he scanned the head with his sonic screwdriver.

"There's someone behind this, directing the robo-force." He told them.

"But why is it me? What have I done?" Donna asked.

"If we find the controller, we'll find that out. Oh!" He exclaimed as he pointed the screwdriver into the air, Donna following his gaze "It's up there. Something in the sky." Danni nodded, not looking into the air and not looking surprised.

_~0~0~0~_

As an ambulance and crew had turned up to help deal with the damage the Doctor had tried to follow the signal with his screwdriver, but had come running back to Donna and Danni moments later.

"I've lost the signal - Donna, we've got to get to your office, H.C. Clements. I think that's where it all started." He turned to Lance, "Lance - is it Lance? Can you give us a lift?" He ran off in the direction he thought the car was without waiting for an answer. Danni turned to Lance.

"Please excuse him, he's turned out to be rather rude. If you could give us a lift, we'd be really grateful." She elaborated. Lance stared at her before ignoring her completely and turning to Donna.

"Who is he?" Lance asked but Donna shot him an annoyed look.

"Just give them a lift, yeah?" She told him and lead Danni off towards the car.

_~0~0~0~_


	3. The Unfortunate Truth

_Again, I would just like to thank you all for favouriting/reviewing/following this fanfic. I didn't think I'd even get anyone reading it, let alone all of you lovely people :) I thought I'd let you know there is a link in my profile to what Danni looks like, just in case you would like to see how I see her :)_

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor jumped out of the passenger seat of the car outside H.C. Clements, followed by Danni and Donna out of the back and a reluctant Lance, and the four people ran up into into the offices held in the huge office building. The Doctor ran towards a computer, using it to find any information he can.

"This might just be a locksmiths, but H.C. Clements was brought up twenty three years ago by the Torchwood Institute." He told them.

"Who are they?" Donna asked.

"They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf." There was silence from the bride and he turned to look at her, again incredulous by her seeming lack of observation.

"... Cyberman invasion." He clarified by she still looked at him blankly.

"Skies over London full of Daleks?"

"Oh, I was in Spain." She explained it away and he sent her a look.

"They had Cybermen in Spain."

"Scuba diving." She added.

"That big picture, Donna - you keep on missing it." He ran over to another computer to inspect it, pushing past Lance rather unnecessarily. "Torchwood was destroyed, but H.C. Clements stayed in business."

"And that's bad, because Torchwood was flattened, and the organisation was closed." Danni told her and the Doctor nodded.

"I think... someone else came in and took over," he whacked the monitor as it wasn't cooperating, "the operation."

"But what do they want with me?" She asked and he stopped and turned to her, giving her his full attention.

"Somehow you've been dosed with Huon energy. And that's a problem because Huon energy hasn't existed since the Dark times. The only place you'd find a Huon particle now is a remnant in the heart of the TARDIS. See? That's what happened." At her confused look he picked up a mug "Say... that's the TARDIS and that's you," he picked up a pencil, "The particles inside you activated. The two sets of particles magnetised and WHAP you were pulled inside the TARDIS." He chucked the pencil into the mug for affect.

"I'm a pencil inside a mug?" She asked timidly.

"Yes, you are. 4H. Sums you up." He placed the mug down and went on with his investigation, "Lance? What was H.C. Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?"

"I don't know, I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't project manager." He replied defensively. The Doctor held up his sonic screwdriver to the screen and it began loading something. Danni moved around and looked at what had loaded, "Why am I even explaining myself? What the hell are we talking about?" Lance continued.

"They make keys, that's the point. And look at this..." A plan of the building appeared on the screen, labelling each floor, "... we're on the third floor." He jumped up and ran off, Danni sighed in resignation and followed, the other two following her until they found him waiting for a lift to come to their floor.

"Underneath reception, there's a basement, yes?" The doors pinged open and him and Danni stepped into the metal box and looked at the controls.

"Then how come when you look on the lift, there's a button marked 'lower basement'?" Danni replied, pointing at the button.

"There's a whole floor which doesn't exist on the official plans." The Doctor confirmed, "So what's down there, then?"

"Are you telling me this building's got a secret floor?" Lance asked in disbelief.

"No, I'm showing you this building's got a secret floor." The Doctor replied.

"It needs a key." Donna pointed out.

"I don't." He boasted and soniced the lock.

"Right then, thanks you three, I can handle this - see you later." Danni scoffed.

"As if you're going anywhere without me, Spaceman." She replied and he opened his mouth to reply, but decided against it at the look on her face as Donna joined them in in lift.

"You're the man who keeps saving my life, I ain't letting you out of my sight." She added.

"Going down." He settled on and Donna looked at Lance.

"Lance?" She asked pointedly, but the man glanced around for an exit before pointing behind him.

"Maybe I should go to the police."

"Inside." Donna commanded and he meekly stepped into the lift, all staring straight ahead.

"To honour and obey?" The Doctor asked the other man.

"Tell me about it, mate." he replied.

"Oi!." Donna scolded them.

"As it should be." Danni added as the doors closed and they descended.

_~0~0~0~_

The lift pinged again and the doors opened revealing a dark, damp corridor lit by a green light. Donna, the Doctor, Lance and then Danni stepped out and looked up and down to try and spot anything that might help them.

"Where are we? Well, what goes on down here?" Donna asked.

"Let's find out..."

"Do you think Mr. Clements knows about this place?"

"The mysterious H.C. Clements? I think he's part of it." Danni and Doctor both spotted something at the same time and grinned at each other, "Oh, look – transport." Soon enough the four were making their way down the corridor each on their own Segway scooters, all looking serious except for Danni was was giggling happily to herself. Donna then looked at the group and started laughing, and the Doctor joined in. Lance just looked at the three, becoming more irrate that he appeared to be left out of some inside joke. They approached a door marked 'Torchwood – authorised personnel only' and jumped off their scooters, the Doctor opening the door and pulled it open to reveal a tiny room with just a ladder attached to one wall. The Doctor peered upwards.

"Wait here. Just need to get my bearings. Don't do anything." He pointed at the trio in warning then started to climb the ladder.

"You'd better come back." Danni warned back and he smiled at her.

"I couldn't get rid of you if I tried." Danni grinned and the three watched him climb the ladder.

"Donna... have you thought about this? Properly? I mean, this is serious! What the hell are we gonna do?" Lance spouted, grabbing her arm for effect. Donna turned to him with a bright smile on her face.

"Oh, I thought July." She replied before turning her attention back to the Doctor. Danni snorted again at her response and Lance glared at her, but she just pulled her tongue out at him and watched the Doctor climb ever upwards.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor jumped from the last rung of the ladder rather dramatically, landing in front of the trio dusting his hands.

"Thames flood barrier! Right on top of us. Torchwood snuck in and built this place underneath." He told them as he stepped out of the little room.

"What, there's like a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark?" Donna asked skeptically.

"I know! Unheard of." He replied almost sarcastically as he walked away, Danni falling into line next to him.

"Can't be many left unused, it was bound to be the Thames eventually." She whispered and he nodded. They approached a green door with the Torchwood 'T' printed on it and the Doctor pushed it open. They all entered looking around amazed at the chemistry equipment stuffed into the room, all bubbling and boiling away. Each bit of equipment was numbered and had a clipboard hanging from it, presumably showing results for tests. Danni watched the Doctor take in the room looking impressed, he did always like a bit of tech.

"Oh, look at this! Stunning!" He breathed out.

"What does it do?" Donna exclaimed.

"Particle extrusion. Hold on..." He darted over to a one, tapping on a small blue bubbling tube, watching the reaction, grinning wildly, "Brilliant. They've been manufacturing Huon particles. Of course, my people got rid of Huons, they unravelled the atomic structure." He told them as if they should all have already known that. Danni did, but she didn't want to point that out.

"Your people? Who are they? What company do you represent?" Lance asked almost defensively.

"Oh, he's a freelancer." Danni replied as the Doctor continued to examine the equipment.

"But this lot are rebuilding them. They've been using the river! Extruding them through a flat hydrogen base so they've got the end result - Huon particles in liquid form." He couldn't help but sound impressed as he picked up a small test tube full of the particles.

"And that's what's inside me?" Donna asked quietly. He replied by gently twisting the top of the tube, causing the contents to glow a brilliant gold. Donna gasped as she also began glowing gold.

"Oh, my God!" She cried out.

"Because the particles are inert - they need something living to catalyse inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then..." He explained before trailing off as he worked out what had happened, "HA!" He exclaimed as both Danni and Donna jumped as he began running around madly, "The wedding! Yes, you're getting married, that's it! Best day of your life, walking down the aisle - oh, your body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside! Adrenaline, acetylcholine, WHAM go the endorphins, oh you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking oven! A pressure cooker, a microwave, all churning away, the particles reach boiling point, SHAZAM!" He rambled in Donna's face before she slapped him, shutting him up and sending him flying backwards.

"What did I do this time?" He asked indignantly.

"Are you enjoying this?" She asked angrily and the Doctor calmed down, slightly ashamed of himself. Donna stepped towards him, looking at him imploringly.

"Right, just tell me - these particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?" She asked, panting as she spoke from her distress.

"Yes!" He replied unconvincingly.

"Doctor... if your lot got rid of Huon particles... why did they do that?"

"Because they were deadly." He replied gently and she looked around the room, completely lost.

"Oh, my God..." She breathed out and Danni hugged her gently.

"He'll sort it out, Donna. Whatever's been done to you, he'll reverse it. I know he will." She told the ginger woman gently, the Doctor nodding in agreement.

"I'm not about to lose someone else." He added with the determination in his tone and in his gaze. There was a bang that seemed to come from all around them and they all were distracted, glancing around the room as they tried to locate the noise.

"Oh, she is long since lost." A female voice hissed as the wall next to them began to rise upwards, revealing a secret room with stone walls and a very deep hole in the floor. The ceiling was covered in cobwebs, but Danni could only focus on the gigantic never ending chasm in front of them, knowing what was down there. If she hadn't been unconscious, she would have been terrified she was going to fall straight down into the hole, straight into the mouths of thousands of spider babies. But she wasn't awake, she was asleep. Still, she stepped slightly backwards from it.

"I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe..." The voice continued, "... until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken!" Then all the robots they hadn't noticed lining the walls turned and faced them ominously, all pointing guns at the two women and the Time Lord. The Doctor, however, didn't seem too perturbed and stepped forward with his hands in his pockets.

"Someone's been digging... oh, very Torchwood. Drilled by laser. How far down does it go?" He asked as he peered down the hole.

"Does it matter? Get away from it." Danni hissed at him, freaked out by him being so close to the edge.

"Down and down, all the way to the centre of the Earth!" The voice replied.

"Really? Seriously? What for?" He asked, confused. Donna moved by his side.

"Dinosaurs." She stated.

"What?"

"Dinosaurs?" She repeated, this time slightly more unsurely.

"What are you on about, dinosaurs?" He asked her, baffled by what she was saying.

"That film, Under the Earth, with dinosaurs. Trying to help!" She snapped the end.

"That's not helping."

"Hey, rude!" Danni scolded him, trying to not pay attention as she moved closer to them, and definitely not looking over the edge.

"Such a sweet couple." The voice interrupted.

"Only a madman talks to thin air and trust me, you don't want to make me mad. Where are you?" The Doctor called impertinently.

"High in the sky, floating so high on Christmas Night." She replied.

"I didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom! Come on, let's have a look at you!" He taunted, pacing around the two women.

"Who are you with such command?" The voice asked, offended by his tone.

"I'm the Doctor." He told her.

"Prepare your best medicines, doctor-man, for you will be sick at heart." And the large red spider-like creature appeared across the room, snarling and growling to scare them. Danni looked up at the Doctor who was staring at the beast with a look of horror on his face.

"The Racnoss... but that's impossible, you're one of the Racnoss!"

"Empress of the Racnoss." She declared proudly.

"If you're the Empress, where's the rest of the Racnoss? Or... are you the only one?" He asked in realisation.

"Such a sharp mind."

"That's it, the last of your kind." He turned to Donna, "The Racnoss come from the Dark Times, billions of years ago, billions. They were carnivores, omnivores, they devoured whole planets." He explained to her.

"Racnoss are born starving, is that our fault?" The Empress asked.

"They eat people?" Donna replied, horrified.

"H. C. Clements, did he wear those- those erm, black and white shoes?" Danni asked her, staring upwards at the ceiling.

"He did! We used to laugh, we used to call him the fat cat in spats." Donna replied with a smile and the Doctor pointed upwards to where Danni was staring and caught sight of her now ex-bosses feet dangling from the ceiling, still wearing the shoes.

"Oh, my God!" She cried, almost gagging at the sight.

"Mm, my Christmas dinner." The Empress told them before cackling.

"You shouldn't even exist! Way back in history, the Fledgling Empires went to war against the Racnoss - they were wiped out." Danni caught sight of Lance climbing towards the Empress and sighed to herself, not long now.

"Except for me." The Empress elaborated. Donna caught sight of her fiancé and a plan quickly formed in her head.

"But that's what I've got inside me, that Huon energy thing." The Empress started to turn away but she exclaimed in annoyance, "Look at me, lady, I'm talking. Where do I fit in? How comes I get all stacked up with these Huon particles? Look at me, you! Look me in the eye and tell me."

"The bride is so feisty!" the Empress hissed in appreciation.

"Yes, I am! And I don't know what you are, you big... thing. But a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe! Now, do it!" Donna watched with pride as Lance swung the axe towards the Racnoss, but as the Empress faced him he stopped, looked round at Donna and began to laugh with the Empress.

"That was a good one. Your face!"

"Lance is funny." The Empress told them.

"What?" Donna asked, confused.

"I'm sorry." The Doctor apologised sadly.

"Sorry for what? Lance, don't be so stupid! Get her!" Lance looked down on her with a look of pity on his face.

"God, she's thick." He snapped. Donna looked back up at him, unable to comprehend what was happening.

"Months I had to put up with her. Months. A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map." Lance continued harshly.

"I don't understand." Donna stated, looking at between the Doctor and her fiancé imploringly.

"How did you meet him?" The Doctor asked gently.

"In the office." She replied.

"He made you coffee." Danni told her, rubbing her arm soothingly.

"What?" Donna exclaimed.

"Every day, I made you coffee." Lance told her, as if he was explaining it to a child.

"You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months." The Doctor explained.

"He was poisoning me?"

"It was all there in the job titled - the Head of Human Resources."

"This time, it's personnel." Lance and the Racnoss laughed at the terrible pun together before turning back to face the trio.

"But... we were getting married." Donna tried weakly.

"Well, I couldn't risk you running off. I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavour Pringle. Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap yap yap - "oh, Brad and Angelina - is Posh pregnant?" X Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me, dear God, the never ending fountain of fat, stupid trivia." He ranted at her as Donna stood there looking hurt and confused.

"Hey!" Danni exclaimed, unable to listen to him any longer, "This woman is the most important woman to ever exist! If you think any different then you deserve exactly what's coming to you!"

"I deserve a medal." He insisted.

"Oh, is that what she's offered you? The Empress of the Racnoss? What are you? Her consort?" The Doctor snapped.

"It's better than a night with her." Lance replied.

"But I love you." Donna said almost mournfully. Lance looked at her pitifully.

"That's what made it easy." He told her nastily, "It's like you said, Doctor - the big picture - what's the point of it all if the Human Race is nothing? That's what the Empress can give me. The chance to... go out there. To see it. The size of it all. I think you understand that, don't you, Doctor?" The Doctor just looked back at him disgusted at his actions.

"Who is this little physician?" The Empress hissed and Lance glanced at her.

"What she said – Martian." He told her.

"Oh, I'm sort of... homeless." He brushed off before walking around Donna to look down the giant hole. "But the point is, what's down here?" He pointed downwards, "The Racnoss are extinct. What's gonna help you four thousand miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth, isn't it?"

"I think he wants us to talk." Lance taunted in a childish tone.

"I think so too." The Empress replied.

"Well, tough! All we need is Donna!"

"Kill this chattering little doctor-man!" The Empress ordered

"Don't you hurt him!" Donna exclaimed, moving in front of him as a barrier.

"No, no, it's all right." The Doctor reassured her.

"No, I won't let them!" Donna told him, terrified. Danni grabbed her hand.

"It's fine, I promise." She told her.

"At arms!" The Empress cried, breaking into their moment. The robots around the room turned and pointed their guns at the Doctor.

"Ah, now. Except." The Doctor protested.

"Take aim!"

"Well, I just want to point out the obvious-" He continued.

"They won't hit the bride. They're such very good shots." The Empress bragged with a grin.

"Just- just- just- hold on, just a tick, just a tiny- just a little- tick." He showed the size of the tick with his finger and thumb, "If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship. So, reverse it... the spaceship comes to her." He pulled the tube of Huon partials out of his pocket and turned the top around. Danni pushed herself against Donna as she started to glow.

"Fire!" The Empress ordered but the bullets bounced away as the TARDIS materialised around the trio. The Doctor darted to the console as Danni smiled sadly at Donna.

"Off we go!" He cried as he flew the TARDIS away from harm, "Oh, you know what I said before about time machines? Well, I lied. And now we're gonna use it." He told her as he flew the box into the Vortex, "We need to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet core, it must've been there since the beginning. That's just brilliant. Molto bene! I've always wanted to see this. Donna - we're going further back than I've ever been before." He turned to Donna and paused as he saw her crying silently. Danni sent him a look before hugging the woman close.

_~0~0~0~_


	4. The Empty Thames

_Oh wow, I can't believe I have so many people reading this XD Thank you all so very much :) I'd also like to give a special thanks to Sherlockian082994 who had reviewed every chapter so far, so thank you :)_

_~0~0~0~_

The TARDIS landed with a small thud and the Doctor peered around the console at Donna and Danni, who were sat on the pilot seat together in silence.

"We've arrived... want to see?" He asked and Donna shrugged.

"I s'pose." The Doctor span the monitor around to him then frowned at the screen.

"Oh, that scanner's a bit small. Maybe your way's best." He hopped over to the door then turned to Donna, "Come on." Donna stood with a sigh and walked over to him.

"No human's ever seen this. You'll be the first." He told her in an attempt to cheer her up.

"All I want to see is my bed." She replied sadly.

"Donna Noble - welcome to the creation of the Earth." And as she approached him he opened the doors onto the creation of the Earth; rocks spinning around in brightly coloured dust and gas clouds, all being illuminated by the sun. Donna stared out at the beauty of the beginning of the solar system. Danni, on the other hand, made her way over to the scanner to look at the scene through the screen. There was only enough room in the doorway for two.

"We've gone back 4.6 billion years. There's no Solar System, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas. That's the Sun over there, brand new. Just beginning to burn." She heard the Doctor explain to Donna.

"Where's the Earth?" Donna asked, confused but delighted.

"All around us... in the dust."

"Puts the wedding in perspective. Lance was right. We're just... tiny." She whispered.

"No, but that's what you do. The Human Race. Making sense out of chaos. Marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars." He glanced around at Danni, who was staring at the screen sadly, "This whole process is beautiful, but only if it's being observed." She looked over at him and started at his stare. He grinned at her and she grinned back, but even he could tell it didn't reach her eyes.

"So, I came out of all this?" Donna asked.

"Isn't that brilliant?" Donna didn't reply except with a noise of agreement and Danni saw a large piece of rock floating past on the screen.

"I think that's the Isle of Wight." Donna pointed out and even Danni let out a chuckle at the thought.

"Eventually, gravity takes hold. Say, one big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in, everything, piling in until you get the..." He paused in his excited ramblings and Donna turned to him with a grin.

"The Earth." He nodded.

"But the question is... what was that first rock?" Danni watched the screen as, as she expected, a large star-shaped rock emerged from one of the gas clouds.

"Look." She and Donna said at the same time.

"The Racnoss..." The Doctor whispered in confirmation. He ran back over to the console and began frantically turning a wheel. Outside the scene sped up as the two women watched themselves fast-forward through time, "Hold on - the Racnoss are hiding from the war! What's it doing?" He asked.

"Exactly what you said." Donna replied. He ran back over to the door to have a look for himself.

"They became the centre of the Earth." Danni explained.

"The first rock." The Doctor added. The TARDIS suddenly shook violently and Danni had to cling to the console to stop herself flying off her feet.

"What was that?" Donna exclaimed.

"Trouble." The Doctor replied as he slammed the doors shut. They both ran back over to the console before the TARDIS shuddered again and the Doctor fell to the floor.

"What the hell's it doing?" Donna cried over the noise. He pulled himself up and ran around to the other side of the console by Danni.

"Remember that little trick I pulled - particles pulling particles." He kicked a leaver and the TARDIS shuddered again, this time sending Danni to the floor as she whacked her head on the console, "It works in reverse - they're pulling us back!" He tried to fight for control of the Time Machine but it was useless as they flew back to 2006.

"Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?" Donna asked angrily.

"Backseat driver." He muttered to Danni who stood up with a grin, "Oh! Wait a minute!" He reached over and pulled out a big circuit board attached to the console by wires. He balanced it onto the console in front of him.

"The extrapolator! Can't stop us, but it should give us a good bump!" He explained as the TARDIS began to land, "Now!" He cried and whacked the extrapolator with his mallet and they took off again, appearing down the hallway. Without waiting the three ran out of its doors.

"We're about 200 yards to the right. Come on!" he told them as they ran down the corridor to where the door leading to the Thames Flood Barrier was.

"But what do we do?" Donna asked, scared.

"I don't know! I make it up as I go along! But trust me, I've got a history." He told her as he listened to the door with his stethoscope.

"But I still don't understand. I'm full of particles - but what for?" She asked.

"There's a Racnoss web at the centre of the Earth, but my people unravelled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss are stuck." A couple of robots appeared and grabbed each of the women, covering their mouths so they couldn't scream as they were dragged away. Danni looked over at Donna as they struggled to get out of their grasps. They were dragged into the laboratory and before they could blink were attatched to the ceiling by more web next to Lance, who looked just as annoyed as they did.

"Hey! Let me down!" Danni exclaimed angrily as Donna expressed similar sentiments but the Empress ignored the pair as she gave her robots more commands, so Donna turned to Lance.

"I hate you." She told him and he looked back at her in disbelief.

"Yeah, I think we've gone a bit beyond that now, sweetheart." He replied nastily and she glared at him.

"My golden couple." The Empress called, finally turning her attention to them, "Together at last - your awful wedded life. Tell me; do you want to be released?"

"Yes!" The three called down and she looked up at them angrily.

"You're supposed to say 'I do'."

"Ha. No chance." Lance laughed out and she roared.

"Say it!" Lance reluctantly looked at Donna.

"I do." He snapped out.

"I do." Donna replied.

"I don't." The Empress added before cackling, "Activate the particles. Purge every last one!" Next to her Donna and Lance began glowing brighter than they had previously, so bright Danni had to squeeze her eyes shut. She didn't understand why she was up on the ceiling, she wasn't full of partials or anything useful. She was asleep.

"And release!" She heard the Empress cry and she opened her eyes just to see the last of the partials zoom down the hole in the ground that was directly below them. Her head snapped up so not looking down the hole.

"The secret heart unlocks. And they will waken from their sleep of Ages." The Empress cried victoriously.

"Who will? What's down there?" Donna demanded, still confused and scared.

"How thick are you?" Lance replied in disbelief.

"Oi! I warned you!" Danni told him angrily but he just glared at her.

"My children, the long lost Racnoss. Now will be born to feast on flesh!" Donna looked over at Danni for an answer but she just stared back with the same pale look.

"Ah, that's why I'm up here. Spider food." Danni exclaimed with realisation, a grin on her face as she worked it out before it fell and she shook her head.

"Oh, I'm even starting to sound like him." She groaned as the sound of the spider-like creatures crawling up the hole reached their ears.

"The web-star shall come to me." The Empress crowed in delight, "My babies will be hungry. They need sustenance. Perish the web." She called joyfully, motioning above her. Lance began panicking, trying to break away.

"Use them! Not me! Use them!" He tried and the two women looked over at him in fright.

"Oh, my funny little Lance! But you are quite impolite to your lady-friend. The Empress does not approve."

"Look away!" Danni told Donna before slamming her eyes shut. There was a slicing noise and then Lance was screaming as he fell.

"Nooooo!" Danni opened her eyes to see the Empress cackling happily.

"Harvest the humans! Reduce them to meat." She told her children as the scurrying noises began growing in volume.

"My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them!" She suddenly stopped and turned to look at one of her robots. "So you might as well unmask, my clever little doctor-man." Danni grinned as the robot removed its mask and cloak, revealing the Doctor.

"Oh well. Nice try." He aimed his sonic screwdriver at the web, "I've got you, Donna!" He told her.

"I'm gonna fall!" Donna screeched as the web loosened around her.

"You're gonna swing!" She grasped the web just in time and went swinging over the giant hole and towards the Doctor, who had is arms outstretched ready.

"I've got ya!" Danni winced as Donna swung right under the Doctor and into the wall in true cartoon fashion.

"... oh. Sorry." He apologised to her as she glared up at him from the floor.

"Thanks for nothing." He grimaced then turned to the ceiling.

"Your turn Danni!" She barked out a laugh.

"Oh not a chance! You are not swinging me into a wall, Spaceman!" She cried, "Just leave me here until later!" He rolled his eyes as she screamed as she swang towards him, into his outstretched arms. She clung to him as she shook from the adrenaline and fear.

"Thanks." She murmured.

"The doctor-man amuses me." The Empress interrupted them and he turned to the giant spider, releasing Danni to stand by his side.

"Empress of the Racnoss - I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you a place in the universe to coexist. Take that offer and end this now." He offered and she hissed in amusement.

"These men are so funny." She announced.

"What's your answer?" He asked.

"Oh - I'm afraid I have to decline." She laughed at the end and his face hardened.

"What happens next is your own doing." He warned her.

"I'll show you what happens next." She hissed, suddenly very angry, "At arms!" the robots situated around the room raised their guns at the Time Lord, "Take aim!" They cocked their guns as they aimed at him, "And-"

"Relax." The Doctor interrupted in a quiet voice and all the robots went limp around them, much to the Empress's confusion.

"What did you do?" Donna called up at them.

"Guess what I've got, Donna?" he replied as he pulled a controller out of his pocket. He looked down at her with a hint of a smirk, "Pockets." He told her proudly.

"How did that fit in there?" She asked.

"They're bigger on the inside!" Danni cried happily, looking over at her friend. The Doctor smiled at her and she laughed back, "Sorry; I stole your line."

"My line?" He asked with a frown and she patted his arm in consolation.

"Robo-forms are not necessary. My children may feast on Martian flesh." She told them.

"Oh, but I'm not from Mars." He explained lowly, going back to their fight.

"Then where?" She asked in confusion.

"My home planet is far away and long-since gone. But its name lives on. Gallifrey." The Empress reared up and began hissing in fury.

"They murdered the Racnoss!" She cried out.

"I warned you. You did this." He produced a handful of baubles from the trees they had encounter earlier.

"No! No! Don't! No!" She protested, panicking as he chucked handful after handful of them into the air. He used the controller to manoeuver some around the Empress, while others flew out of the room, down the corridor. Another bauble flew into the piping at the Empress' feet, causing fire to explode around her. Water poured into to room from the corridor and pipes around the room and began flooding the giant hole.

"My children!" The Empress wailed as Donna and Danni watched on in horror as the torrents of water fell down the pit like a plughole, drowning the skuttling Racnoss heading for them.

"No! My children! My children!" Danni turned to the Doctor was watching the scene in a stoic silent, eying the Empress with contempt as she was consumed by the flames around her.

"Doctor. You can stop now." She told him gently, grabbing his hand tightly but was scared by the dark look in his eyes as he turned to her, full of pain and anger. He watched the scene again for a moment before looking over the railings at Donna.

"Come on Donna! Time I got you out!" She ran up the stairs to meet the pair, everyone shoving debris out of the way so they could escape. The water had begun spraying over them and all three were drenched as they ran up the stairs. Danni reached back and grabbed the red-head's hand as they headed upwards.

"Transport me!" The Empress hissed after them, but none looked back as they reached the ladders to escape. The Doctor ascended first, followed by Donna who was let past by Danni.

"But what about the Empress?" Donna asked, worried about what the Empress would do now.

"She's used up all her Huon energy - she's defenceless!" The Doctor explained to reassure her. They reached the top and he turned the handle, but they are pushed back in momentarily by the blinding light of the missiles. Soon enough, however, they were let out, Donna first, then the Doctor, then Danni. They all began cheering and the Doctor held Danni around the waist as they celebrated together.

"Just... there's one problem." Donna pointed out, trying to sound serious but the giant grin on her face contradicted this.

"What's that?" The Doctor asked, looked up at her.

"We've drained the Thames." They all looked out across the now empty Thames, then at each other before the collapsed into a fit of laughter.

_~0~0~0~_

They landed outside Donna's house and stepped out onto the cold street, all still rather damp. Danni leant against the doorframe, watching the two with a small smile on her face. The Doctor-Donna, they already had a great rapport.

"There we go. Told you she'd be all right. She can survive anything." He told them, looking up and down the blue box in delight.

"More than I've done." Donna sighed sadly. The Doctor took his screwdriver out of his pocket and scanned her from head to foot.

"Nope! All the Huon particles have gone. No damage, you're fine." He announced as his placed it back again.

"Yeah, but apart from that... I missed my wedding, lost my job and became a widow on the same day. Sort of." She listed off and his face fell into a frown.

"I couldn't save him."

"He deserved it." Donna replied quickly. The Doctor raised his eyebrows in response until she deflated.

"No, he didn't." She conceded before looking back at her house, "I'd better get inside. They'll be worried."

"Best Christmas present they could have." They all watched her parents through the window, hugging each other in comfort.

"Oh, no, I forgot - you hate Christmas." The Doctor teased.

"Yes, I do."

"Even if it snows?" He reached over Danni's head and she looked upwards, reaching towards a small switch. He saw her grinning and moved his hand, letting her have the honours. She jumped and just managed the reach it, hearing the blast explode with a bang. Snow began floating downwards and Donna began laughing with happy disbelief, holding her hands out to catch the flakes.

"I can't believe you did that!"

"Oh, basic atmospheric excitation." He replied as if it was obvious, then shot her a grin. She smiled back

"Merry Christmas."

"And you." They all watched the snow fall down towards the earth for a moment before he gathered the courage and asked, "So... what will you do with yourself now?"

"Not getting married for starters. And I'm not gonna temp anymore. I dunno... travel... see a bit more of planet Earth... walk in the dust. Just... go out there and do something." She replied with a new determination.

"Well, you could always..." He trailed off, unsure as Donna stared unwaveringly at him.

"What?"

"... come with me..." He replied.

"No." She told him quietly but confidently, as if she had thought about it.

"Okay." He shot out quickly, shuffling from foot to foot, uncomfortable.

"I can't..."

"No, that's fine." He interrupted with a false indifference.

"No, but really... everything we did today... do you live your life like that?" She asked, sounding a bit concerned.

"Not all the time." Even he seemed unconvinced at his answer and she shot him a look that told them she felt the same.

"I think you do. And I couldn't."

"But you've seen it out there. It's beautiful." He tried to convince her but she shook her head.

"And it's terrible. That place was flooding and burning and they were dying and you were stood there like... I don't know... a stranger. And then you made it snow - I mean, you scare me to death!" She looked over at Danni, "And you were so okay with everything, nothing fazed you. It was terrifying." Danni blinked, but didn't reply. Obviously she wasn't scared, she was still convinced she was asleep. Claire would wake her up any minute. And that was a good thing. Of course it was.

"Well then." The Doctor stated after a short pause.

"Tell you what I will do though - Christmas dinner." The Doctor suddenly looked scared at the thought and Danni giggled.

"Oh, come on." Danni moaned, knowing he would never actually agree.

"I don't do that sort of thing." He told them.

"You did it last year, you said so." She motioned behind her at the house, "And you might as well because Mum always cooks enough for twenty." The Doctor appeared to deliberate on the thought, drawing his breath in through his teeth to show his reluctance.

"Oh, all right then. But you go first, better warn them. And... don't say I'm a Martian." He motioned to the TARDIS. "We just have to park her properly, she might drift off to the Middle Ages. We'll see you in a minute." He grabbed Danni's arm and pulled her in, shutting the door and walking up to the console.

"I knew you wouldn't." Danni told him in a sing-song voice as he began taking off.

"Doctor!" Donna's voice called through the TARDIS and he ran over to the doors, throwing them open.

"Blimey, you can shout." He complained.

"Am I ever gonna see you again?"

"If I'm lucky."

"Just... promise me one thing;" Donna asked after a pause, "Don't let her go."

"I don't need anyone." He told her.

"Yes, you do. Because sometimes, I think you need someone to stop you." He glanced back at Danni, who just waved at Donna.

"Yeah." He agreed as he turned back round to her, "Thanks then, Donna - good luck - and just... be magnificent."

"I think I will, yeah." Donna replied with a laugh in her voice. He closed the door again and turned to walk back to the console when Donna's voice echoed through the room. He rolled his eyes and opened the door slightly again.

"Oh, what is it now?" He asked in mock exasperation.

"That friend of yours... what was her name?" Donna asked gently.

"Her name was Rose." He announced proudly. Danni could hear the tears in his voice as he came back in and flew them away.

_~0~0~0~_


	5. The Hungry Earth

Danni slowly approached the Doctor, who was staring at a scanner screen into the vast space outside. She stood by him, hands in the pockets of her new dress and swaying slightly from side to side. When they had flown away, he had directed her to the wardrobe to get her some dry and clean clothes and she had come back with a pale blue dress with small white pockets near the bottom, pitch black tights and blue ballerina shoes, topped with a black cardigan. Not very practical but she loved it so she didn't care. It hadn't been hard to locate an outfit she liked, but she guessed that was because the TARDIS was telepathic and would know what she liked.

"She knows, you know?" She asked him gently and he span around as if he hadn't noticed her approach.

"Sorry?" He replied.

"Rose." She clarified, "Even though you never said it, she knows. And she is so alive and fighting and just living. It'll be hard but that knowledge will help you. And wait 'til you see what's to come; it's magnificent." She told him. He stared back at her with a sad smile and pulled her in for a hug, which she returned tightly. When he let her go, he looked her up and down and a look of realisation fell on his face.

"You've changed." He stated as he forced himself out of his dispair and she span around, the skirt of the dress flaring slightly around her legs.

"Do you like?" She asked when she stopped and he nodded.

"You look fantastic." He told her sincerely and she grinned. She pulled the screen down to her eye level, staring out at the stars.

"So, where are you taking me?"

"You're just assuming I'm taking you somewhere?" He asked, mock outraged. She nodded.

"Yes. Where?" Of course he was; her dream her rules.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked her and she rolled her eyes.

"Somewhere awesome, obviously." He grinned knowingly and began flipping switches, sending the TARDIS into turmoil and Danni into the railings with a groan. Her wrist whacked against a bar hard and a loud cracking noise came from the leather device over her arm. She hissed as it began burning, sizzling the skin underneath.

"Oww.." She moaned as she tried to undo the straps, but she couldn't get a grip on the buckle. She looked up at the Doctor, "It won't come off." She stated confused. He nodded.

"It never will." He replied sadly but she didn't see the look on his face as she felt the same force from Claire's front room slam into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her and causing her vision to go white. She landed on the floor with a thud, skidding slightly.

"Doctor?" She called with a cough as her vision came back. She felt the chill in the air and glanced around; she was sat on a hill. A wet hill. A cold, wet, probably muddy hill. It wasn't raining at the moment, but one look up told her it was about to at any moment. So, she was still in Britain.

With no clue on where she was, she stood up and decided to walk downwards, there was obviously nothing else to find up here. In the distance she saw two figures waving to their left, and followed where they seemed to be pointing to see a blue box in a dip in the hills, sat in a graveyard. She began running towards the little church in the middle.

"Doctor!" She cried as she ran down a slope, hopping through the gates. He wasn't by the TARDIS, but she could see him just further down near some patches of blue grass. He span around and grinned.

"Danni-Girl!" He replied happily as she ploughed into him, knocking them both to the floor. She frowned down at him.

"You're not the Doctor." She stated as she stared down at Eleven, but then shook her head, "No, that's wrong. You _are_ the Doctor, you're just not the Doctor I was just with." She was about to continue when he pulled her down for a hug.

"Danni-Girl, it feels like it's been forever!" He told her as he let her go and she stood up shakily.

"Yeah well, for me it was about four minutes ago. How am I here, with you? Where is here, anyway?"

"Not Rio." The ginger girl next to them grumbled and Danni grinned, pointing at her.

"Amelia Pond!" She cried happily, "Oh, am I glad to see you!" She hugged the woman tightly.

"Danni, we only saw each other like, two days ago?" Danni frowned.

"No, I've not met you before." She replied, confused.

"Ah, you're an earlier version of Danni than that. Shame, you enjoyed that."

"What do you mean, an earlier version of me?" She was very confused but the Doctor just held up his finger at her to shush her.

"Oi! Still rude!" She told him angrily. He winked at her and she couldn't help but smile back. He looked around the countryside and his gaze fell on the machinery at the bottom of the valley.

"Oh, look! Big mining thing. Oh, I love a big mining thing. See, way better than Rio!" He turned to Amy, "Rio doesn't have a big mining thing." He pointed out.

"We're not going to have a look, are we?" Amy whined, already knowing the answer.

"Let's go and have a look!" The Doctor said as if he hadn't heard her. He grabbed Danni's hand and began pulling her down the steep slope, "Come on you two, let's see what they're doing."

"Yeah, come along Ponds!" Danni called, "It'll be fun!"

"Why can't all my companions have the same attitude as you?" He asked her. She shrugged.

"Who would want to go to boring old Rio when there is actually blue grass here?" She reached down and pulled some out of the ground, "Look. It's like grass, but it's _blue._ I'm actually holding blue grass."

"I know." He whispered smugly.

"There can only be one thing more awesome than blue grass." She nodded to herself.

"What?"

"Apple grass." She pointed to blue grass at him, "I'd love to see apple grass." He frowned.

"Have you not been to New New York yet?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and flashed it down, the end popping out as he read the results.

"You're young." He turned to her, "You're right at the beginning, aren't you?"

"What does that even mean? You promised you were going to explain what was going on, but you didn't." He opened his mouth to start explaining when he was interrupted by Amy calling their names, catching up and hooking her arm through Danni's.

"This had better be good." She warned the pair.

"Oh, it'll be something." Danni muttered.

_~0~0~0~_

Amy let go of Danni's arm to look the locked gate over, while the Doctor stood and read out the sign slowly.

"Restricted access. No unauthorised personnel. Mm." He smiled at Danni then pulled out his screwdriver, pointing it a the lock and it opened with a spark. Both Amy and Danni jumped at the flash but the Doctor just put the screwdriver away as if that was supposed to happen.

"That is breaking and entering." Amy quietly hissed.

"What did I break?!" The Doctor protested. Danni nodded in agreement,

"Sonicing and entering, totally different." She pointed out. The Doctor took the padlock off and opened the gate, stepping out of the way. Amy stared at him for a moment before rolling her eyes and stepping through. The Doctor shot Danni a triumphant look and she giggled.

"Come on, then." She called back to the pair. The Doctor turned to look back up the valley at the graveyard.

"You're sure Rory'll catch us up?" He shouted back, concerned. Danni grabbed the Doctor's hand. She did love Eleven and she was going to make the most of this, somewhat extended, dream sequence while she had the chance.

"Trust me, Rory's got his own thing going on. Let's just follow Amy." He nodded and the pair followed her. The entered the main building and began looking for a control room. The hallways were made up of concrete walls and no natural lighting, as if they were heading under ground.

"What about now, can you feel it now?" He asked Amy.

"Honestly, I've got no idea what you're on about." She replied. Danni held up her hand.

"I can feel it." She couldn't, but as she knew what was happening she felt the need to let everyone know.

"Of course you can. I bet you were the teachers pet at school as well." Amy teased her. The Doctor paused for a moment before continuing down the hallway.

"The ground doesn't feel like it should." He explained.

"It's ten years in the future, maybe how this ground feels is how it always feels." Amy reasoned. Danni shook her head. A whirring sound rang through the hallway and the three briefly tried to locate it but didn't stop walking.

"Good thought! But no. It doesn't. Hear that, drill in start-up mode." He pulled out his screwdriver, flashed it then put it away, "Afterwaves of a recent seismological shift and blue grass." He put some of the blue grass in his mouth and promptly spat it out. Amy laughed in disbelief.

"Oh, please! Have you always been this disgusting?" She asked him.

"No, that's recent." Danni laughed, "What?"

"Bakelite." She pointed out. He shifted, embarrased and walked away to hide it.

"What's in here?" He asked as he entered a room to the side, where a woman looked back at the trio surprised "Hello!"

"Who are you? What're you doing here?" She looked at Amy, "And what're you wearing?"

"She dressed for Rio." Danni explained, "Not Wales."

"We're in Wales?" Amy asked.

"Aren't you always?" Danni replied. The Doctor took out his psychic paper and flashed it at the angry woman.

"Ministry of Drills, Earth and Science! New Ministry, quite big, just merged, lot of responsibility on our shoulders, don't like to talk about it. What're you doing?"

"None of your business." The woman replied. The Doctor walked up to the monitors, watching the readouts with a frown as the monitoring machinery beeps. Lines fluctuated and writing scrawled down in green against the black background and none of it made any sense to Danni or Amy.

"Beeping is never good, is it?" Danni asked the Doctor, who shook his head absentmindedly.

"No..." He replied, "Where are you getting these readings from?" The woman was picking up a large metal piece of equipment from a hole in the middle of the room.

"Under the soil." She told him as she moved it out of the way. Amy walked over to a forklift truck and leaned against it impatiently while the Doctor and Danni knelt by the hole. The Doctor picked up some of the soil, letting it run through his fingers as another man entered.

"The drill's up and running again. What's going on? Who are these people?" He asked.

"Amy, Danni and the Doctor." Amy told him, pointing at each of them as she did. Danni looked up and waved at him with a smile.

"Hello!"

"We're not staying, are we, Doctor?!" Amy continued, looking at him pointedly but he didn't notice.

"Why's there a big patch of earth in the middle of your floor?" He asked the pair.

"We don't know, it just appeared overnight." The woman replied. Realising they weren't making it to Rio, Amy walked over and peered in the hole. The Doctor shot up, startling the pair.

"Good, right, you all need to get out of here very fast." He told them as he headed to the monitor and typing on it.

"Why?" The woman asked.

"What's your name?" He asked her.

"Nasreen Chaudhry."

"Look at the screens, Nasreen, your readings. It's moving." Amy knelt down next to Danni as the hole began smoking gently.

"Is it supposed to be doing that?" Amy asked Danni, who shook her head.

"Doubt it."

"Hey, that's specialised equipment! Get away from it." The man told the Doctor as he approached them.

"What is?" Nasreen asked the Doctor. Danni nudged Amy, who looked over at the trio around the equipment.

"Doctor, this steam, is that a good thing?" She called over. He looked over, a thoughtful frown on his face.

"Shouldn't think so." He walked over, "It's shifting when it shouldn't be shifting." He looked at Danni, who was grinning at him, "What?"

"I always loved it when you were being all clever." She told him and he beamed.

"What shouldn't?" Nasreen demanded, very confused. The ground began to shake and the steam began to rise. They all backed away from the hole, Danni sticking close to Amy.

"The ground, the soil, the earth, moving, but how?" He rushed back over to the monitor, "Why?"

"Earthquake?" Amy suggested.

"What's going on?" The man asked. The Doctor ran back over to the hole, looking in every direction as he tried to figure out what was happening.

"Doubt it. Cos it's only happening under this room." He jumped back as the ground gave way and created another hole by his feet. Amy shrieked as another hole appeared by her, the room filling with holes as the ground appeared to slip away underneath them.

"It knows we're here." Danni cried out, jumping across to Nasreen as one appeared right underneath her.

"The ground's attacking us." The Doctor confirmed.

"No, that's not possible!" Nasreen laughed in disbelief as she and Danni clung to each other, balancing on a very small piece of ground.

"Under the circumstances, I suggest... RUN!" The Doctor rushed towards them and reached out, grabbing Danni's hand. She in turn grabbed Nasreen's and they all headed for the door. The man yelled as the ground he was running on collapsed under him and he became trapped knee deep in the soil. Amy stopped by him, not knowing what to do.

"Tony!" Nasreen shouted

"Stay back, Amy! Stay away from the earth!" The Doctor warned her. She looked at him, then Tony and jumped across to help the man out of the ground.

"It's OK." She told him gently. She screamed as the ground opened up and swallowed her up to her thighs.

"It's pulling me down!" Amy cried.

"Amy!" Danni and the Doctor ran over to her, Danni crouching and grabbing one of her arms.

"Doctor, help me, something's got me!" She yelped as it pulled her down further. The Doctor stretched out on his stomach and reached for her. Danni skidded across the floor as she was pulled forward by the force of the ground eating Amy.

"Amy, take my hand." He told her. She leant forward and grabbed his outstretched hand, each now holding onto her.

"The ground's got my legs." She told him as she was pulled down to her waist. He held onto her hand tightly as Danni skidded forward again, her feet landing in some soil.

"I've got you." He promised Amy, who nodded.

"OK." Nasreen was stood next to them, helping Tony out of the hole and the pair rushed to the doorway.

"Don't let go." Amy begged.

"Never." Danni swore.

"Doctor, what is it, why is it doing this?" She asked.

"Stay calm," He replied instead, "keep hold of my hand, don't let go." He looked over his shoulder, "Your drill, shut it down! Go! Now!" Nasreen and Tony ran out of the room as Danni felt herself going down instead of across the floor as she struggled to keep a hold of Amy. She glanced down at her feet, now ankle deep in the soil. Her grip tightened on Amy; if they were going down they were going down together.

"Can you get me out?" Amy asked.

"Amy, try and stay calm. If you struggle, it'll make things worse. Keep hold of our hands."

"We're not going to let you go." Danni added. Amy slipped from the Doctor's grip and sunk further down, pulling Danni down with her. The Doctor tumbled backwards but scrambled up and grabbed Amy's arm to stop her falling even further.

"Doctor, it's pulling me down, something's pulling me!" Amy cried, terrified.

"Stay calm." he told her firmly, "Hold on, if they can just shut down the drill..."

"I can't hold on!" She was pulled down so only her head and arms were showing above the soil. Danni glanced down again, now knee-deep.

"What's pulling me? What is under the earth? I don't want to suffocate under there." Amy sobbed, her eyes full of tears.

"Amy, concentrate. Don't you give up!" The Doctor told her.

"Tell Rory..." With a last bit of force, Amy was pulled under the Earth before she could finish her sentence.

"Amy!" Danni cried as she was quickly pulled under with her, disappearing from view.

"Danni, no!" The Doctor cried, he never noticed Danni was trapped and she hadn't said anything, "No! No!" He fell forward, trying to get closer to them, digging fruitlessly into the ground "No! No! No! No. No! No. No." He breathed out before he slapped the ground angrily and stood up, "No. No!" He pulled out his screwdriver and pointed it at the floor, hoping it would reverse whatever had happened and send them both back up. He hadn't even noticed she was being pulled down too, and now whatever was down there had not only Amy but his Danni-Girl as well. When nothing happened his arm fell limply to his side, the buzzing of the screwdriver dying off as Nasreen and Tony rushed back in. They both panted as they looked at the man who looked like he was about to cry.

"Where are they?" Nasreen asked.

"They've gone. The ground took them."

_~0~0~0~_

Deep underground, oblivious to all of the chaos and worry above them, Amy laid unconscious on the floor, her body being scanned by green humanoid creature. Danni groaned, her head pounding from being crushed on the way down and the creature froze as Danni shot up and stared, wide-eyed at her. The creature approached her, ready to pounce and Danni backed away.

"Oh no, no don't do that. Please, I'm not a threat." She explained, "Please, my name is Danni, that is Amy and we're here to help." It didn't stopped the creature advancing on her, "I... I can name you. Er..." She tapped her head before pointing at it, "Silurian!" She exclaimed, "Homo Reptilia. I know you don't think much of us apes, but to know that I must be pretty smart and worth keeping us both alive, am I right?" The creature continued it's approach, injecting something into her and she fell unconscious.

_~0~0~0~_

_So she's jumped to Eleven, and she's gone with Amy :) I've started to try and show the difference between her relationships with each of the Doctor's, don't forget in the last chapter he would have been a good few years younger than this Doctor, and he obviously had met her before then :) Again, thanks for all the love, it amazes me so many people seem like Danni really, so thank you :)_


	6. The Underground Escape

"Let me out!" Amy cried as soon as she woke up in the glass-covered coffin. She pounded against the lid, "Let me out! Can anybody hear me?! I'm alive in here! Let me out! I know you're out there! My name is Amy Pond and you'd better get me the hell out of here or so help me I am going to kick your backside!" A distorted green figure with a white surgeon's mask leant over the glass, "Please?" She asked, much more timidly.

"Shh!" The creature hushed her and she frowned in annoyance.

"Did you just shush me? Did you just shush me?" She shouted, smacking her first against the glass. No one shushed her, no one.

"Amy be quiet!" Danni called from her own glass container. Amy looked around, trying to see her, see anything outside of her container but couldn't.

"Danni? What's happening?" she asked as a gas began to filter in around her, "No no no, don't do that." She panicked, "No gas! No gas!" She choked as it filled her lungs before she fell unconscious.

_~0~0~0~_

The next thing she knew she was strapped upright against what she guessed was an examination board. She struggled against the restraints but only found herself able to move parts of her body. She looked to her side and saw a man strapped next to her, breathing heavily with his shirt undone.

"Don't struggle." He told her, his voice dropping to a whisper, "Close your eyes and don't struggle."

"What? Where am I? Why can't I move my body?" She asked him in the same hushed tones.

"Decontamination, they call it. They did it to me. While I was conscious." He explained, still panting.

"OK, you're freaking me out now. Did what? Who did?"

"Dissected me." Amy's gaze followed his as he looked down, a long pink scar reaching from the middle of his chest to his navel. Her eyes went wide and she shook her head.

"No." She pleased. Footsteps approached them and he looked away into the room before back at her.

"He's coming. I'm sorry." He whispered, "I wish I could help you both." Amy turned to see the green creature from before approaching her, the surgeon's mask still covering it's mouth and nose. He was wearing white lab clothes and an apron to match and was holding up a syringe. He turned to the right and walked past the table to the one next to her, where she saw Danni strapped down. She was struggling against the bonds, which had already been clamped down by the device in the creature's pocket.

"Danni? You leave her alone!" Amy demanded, struggling again to get free so she could help her friend.

"Amy calm down." Danni told her, "Just close your eyes and look away, like he said." But Amy wasn't listening.

"If you hurt her the Doctor will kill you, do you hear me?" She screamed.

"Amy!" Danni scolded her loudly, "Calm down, it's okay, honest. Just look away." The creature pulled down it's mask, revealing what appeared to be a lizard man. He reached over and pressed a button on a device dangling next to her head.

"From the clothing," He spoke into it, "the human female appears to be more resistant to the cold than the male."

"Actually, I'm pretty cold. If I'd known I was going to Wales I'da grabbed a jacket." Danni rambled as Amy struggled harder, wanting to help her friend.

"And I dressed for Rio!" Amy cried out.

"Leave her alone! You got me!" The man next to Amy shouted angrily, wanting to stop what happened to him happening to the young lass on the table. The lizard man took out the device Danni had seen him use earlier and used it to clamp down Amy's wrists. She cried out in slight pain, but mostly frustration as it became even harder for her to move.

"Decontamination complete. Commencing dissection." The syringe started glowing a deep green and he lowered it onto Danni's stomach, cutting through her dress and into her. Amy clamped her eyes shut as Danni groaned in pain. It didn't want to make her scream, it just made her want to get as far away from him as possible. He started in the middle of the chest and moved slowly down to her navel, much like he had done to the Welsh man.

"Female is less vocal than the male when it comes to pain, this may be due to less nerves on the outer skin." He continued, "First visual examination concludes that while most organs are very similar..." He was interrupted by a bell noise coming from above them.

"Area 17 incursion, species diagnostic requested. Area 17 incursion, species diagnostic requested." A voice rang out from a tannoy and he sighed in annoyance.

"Oh, fine." He reached over and pressed a button on the recording device, Danni assumed it was the stop button, before using the same syringe-like object to seal her stomach closed. He span on his heal and left the lab without another word.

"Yeah! And stay out!" Amy shouted at him as if she had made him leave. Danni looked down at her hand, seeing the device she was grasping and smiled slightly. She pressed a button and nothing happened, so she tried another and her restraints came undone. She pushed herself up, her whole torso protesting and she stumbled into Amy's booth, pressing the same button and unlocking her. Amy grabbed her and helped her walk over to the Welsh man.

"You know, for a dream, this bloody hurts." Danni stated loudly before motioning downwards, "And look what he did to my dress? It's covered in blood and it's ripped. If he'd gone any higher I'd may as well be naked!" She held the device out and freed him.

"How did you get that?" He asked Danni, amazed she had been able to do anything as she was being sliced open.

"You never picked a lizard man's pocket?" Amy retorted, "Come on, before he gets back." The exited the room before heading into a corridor, each of them looking around in case they were spotted.

"That creature, do you think it was an alien? Any more of them do you think? Do you think the Earth's been invaded?" The man asked them.

"They've got an established colony under the ground." Danni explained, "I think they've been here a while." The man stared at her, surprised.

"Do you really thing so?"

"Don't know." Amy replied, "But we know someone who could have some answers. We need to get back to the surface and find him." She paused by a door in the wall, "I wonder where this leads." She mused excitedly.

"Maybe it's a way out of here." She placed her hand on a panel next to it and the room inside lit up, showing a boy attatched to wires standing rigidly in the middle of the small cubicle. The man's eyes widened and he began rattling the handle on the door, trying to break in.

"Oh, my God, no." He whispered.

"What is it?" Amy asked, trying to get a look.

"It's my son. It's Elliot. What've they done to him?"

"No! He's in there! We have to get him out! Elliot! Elliot, it's Dad!" He tried to panel but it flashed a deep red.

"Access denied. Unauthorised genetic imprint." It told him and he growled in frustration, moving to try the door again. Danni grabbed him, using all her strength to push his arms down.

"Seriously. We can't get in." She told him, wincing as her stomach protested.

"That's my boy in there!" The man cried.

"These screens," Amy explained, "they're monitoring something. I think they're vital signs - heartbeats, pulses. Why else would he be wired up? He's still alive." The man seemed to calm down at that and nodded in agreement.

"All right. We find weapons, get that creature from the lab and force it to release Elliot, yeah?" Amy shot Danni a look and Danni smiled at the man, nodding.

"Yeah, trust me we'll get him out." The continued on, the light in Elliot's room going out. Amy led them into another room which was lined on both sides with glass chambers.

"These chambers are all over the city." Amy pointed out. She spotted a sensor and placed her hand in it, lighting up one of the chambers revealing a group of masked lizard-people, obviously warriors. All three jump back slightly in surprise.

"Uh! Turn it off quick!" Amy did as she was told and the chamber went dark. When nothing happened the Welsh man frowned.

"They're not moving." He stated.

"Maybe they're asleep. Let's have another look." she reached into the sensor, leaving her hand in it longer this time.

"No, Amy, don't!" The doors slid open and Amy stepped into the chamber, circling around one of them.

"Amy, what are you doing? Get out of there." He hissed. Danni patted his arm reassuringly.

"They're not asleep, they're in stasis. Waiting to be awakened." She explained, "We really need to find the Doctor, they're not going to do anything like that." She motioned to one of the creatures, "And they're called Silurians." She added. Amy bent down, noticing they were standing on small round stone discs. She tapped it gently.

"I wonder what these are. The Doctor would know. The Doctor always knows." She told the Welsh man. Danni frowned, annoyed.

"Oi, did I not just tell you that they're in stasis?" She asked Amy who nodded.

"Yes, you did. Sorry." She replied. The man looked upwards and saw two chutes, one above each container.

"Hey, look." Both women looked up and saw them. Amy grinned as she connected the dots and worked out what the discs were for.

"Wait... I've got it. It's how they came up to the surface. Some sort of powered transport discs. It's our way out of here." The man nodded then spotted the guns the warriors were holding.

"Even better, weapons." He took one of the guns, "Come on, now we can fight back." Amy hesitated a moment then took the other one.

"There's only two." She pointed out.

"I don't want a gun, thank you very much." Danni told her, "I don't even think I could lift one right now, let alone shoot it." She walked around the containers, activating the sensor and the doors slid closed.

"Which way now?" The man asked. Amy started walking down the corridor.

"Door at the end." She decided.

"Are you sure?"

"Nope!" Danni added with a giggle as she followed Amy, going slightly slower as whatever painkillers they had appeared to have given her started wearing off. The scar that had been left behind when she had been sealed up was starting to really burn. The doors at the end of the room slid open and they stepped out onto a ledge. Beneath them stood line upon line of Silurian soldiers, all ready to be awakened.

"Wow." Mo breathed out.

"Yeah."

"We don't stand a chance."

"We have to find the Doctor." Danni told them, Amy nodded in agreement. They all peeled their gazes off the sight and left back the way they came.

_~0~0~0~_

It felt like they had been walking for ages, and each with each step Danni was finding it harder to move, to breath, to do anything. This whole dream experience wasn't really going to way of her other Doctor Who dreams. For a start, she had never been dissected before, and time seemed to be passing in real time, so walking for half an hour really felt like half an hour. Plus, usually the Doctor took her somewhere pretty and declared his undying love for her, that had _definitely_ not happened yet. She would have remembered, she always did.

"I really need to stop for a minute," She told them finally, leaning against a wall, "I feel like my insides are about to fall out." She slid down to the ground, panting slightly. Yep, she definitely wasn't getting dissected again any time soon.

"Does it hurt?" Amy asked as she sat down next to her, lying the gun at her feet. Danni smiled warmly at the girl who seemed to be worried about her. She leant her head on her shoulder.

"Nothing I can't handle, Amelia sweetheart." She promised, "Just give me a moment, then we'll continue forwards, yeah?"

"We don't even know where we're going, how are we supposed to find the Doctor?" Amy asked her.

"He's down here somewhere, in the courtroom. Can't miss it." She told her, closing her eyes for a moment.

"How do you know?" The Welsh man asked, suspicious.

"She can see the future," Amy explained, "The reason she's not even protesting is because she knows we will find him." He seemed to accept this but didn't sit down, keeping an eye on either direction with his gun at the ready.

"Why's he in the courtroom? Is he appealing to get us out or something?"

"Nah," Danni drawled out, "They're going to execute him and that lovely Nasreen lady." Amy looked down at her, startled.

"Wait, what?" Danni opened an eye at her.

"Oh, calm down. It's fine. We interrupt them, it's all peachy." She waved off then frowned, "He should actually be getting there soon." She stood up slowly, using Amy to push herself off the ground, "I can't remember really, this isn't my favourite episode if I'm honest." She started back down the hallway calling over her shoulder, "Well, come along Pond."

_~0~0~0~_

Restac and Malokeh, the military commander and the head science officer, strode purposefully into the state courtroom followed by the soldiers escorting the Doctor and Nasreen.

"You're not authorised to do this!" Malokeh protested.

"I'm authorised to protect the safety of our species while they sleep." Restac retorted.

"Oh, lovely place, very gleaming." The Doctor stated as he looked around the grand room.

"This is our court," Restac told him, "and our place of execution." Amy appeared from the side, aiming her gun squarely at Restac, Danni stood next her her, leaning at her for support.

"Let them go!" She demanded. The Doctor smiled and turned to Nasreen.

"Amy Pond and Danni-Girl, there's two girls to rely on." He told her happily, looking back at Danni as the Welsh man entered behind them. He frowned as he saw her shaking, "Something's wrong..."

"You're covered both ways, so don't try anything clever, buster." Amy continued, motioning her head to the man. Nasreen looked behind her and blinked in surprise.

"Mo!" She cried happily at the sight of her friend's son-in-law.

"Now let them go, or I shoot." Amy demanded as Restac hissed, moving closer to her, "I'm warning you!" Restac grabbed the gun out of Amy's hand, chucking her to the ground. Danni yelled in pain as she fell with her, landing on her side.

"Don't you touch them!" The Doctor shouted, now convinced something was very wrong.

"And you." Restac pointed the gun at Mo, who reluctantly gave up the gun to the approaching soldiers. Malokeh held up his hands.

"All right, Restac. You've made your point." Her head turned slowly and she walked up to him.

"This is now a military tribunal. Go back to your laboratory, Malokeh." She told him. One of the soldiers jabbed Malokeh in the back and Restac hissed threateningly at him. Malokeh looked over at Amy and Danni, a look of defeat on his face.

"This isn't the way." He told them as he left.

"Prepare them for execution." She commanded and the soldiers grabbed the hostages, tying them to large pillars in the middle of the room.

"OK, sorry, as rescues go, didn't live up to its potential." Amy apologised as the Doctor was tied up on the pillar next to her. Nasreen was tied to his right and Mo on her right.

"I'm glad you're OK." he replied sincerely. Danni groaned loudly as she was slammed into the pillar on the Doctor's left and tied there.

"Oh, you wouldn't have even known how to shoot that gun." She told Amy. The Doctor strained his neck to look at her, blushing and looking straight ahead.

"What's up with you?" Danni asked, seeing the movement.

"I... I can see into your dress." She looked down and groaned in embarrassment.

"Oh for the love of... I want compensation for this dress. It's a very nice dress! A blue box gave me this dress, I'll have you know!" She snapped out.

"Lizard men, though!" Amy interrupted.

"Homo reptilia, actually. Although I do believe I told you that before." Danni replied.

"They occupied the planet before humans. Now they want it back." the Doctor explained.

"After they've wiped out the human race." Nasreen added. Amy turned to face front.

"Right, preferred it when I didn't know, to be honest."

"We all did. Can you loosen this just a little, please? I'd like to be comfortable if I'm going to be shot." She asked on of the soldiers as they finished up but got no response. The position the pillar was forcing her to stand in was stretching the newly-healed scar and the pain was starting to go to her head. The soldiers lined up in front of them acting as a firing squad but didn't move.

"Why are they waiting? What do you think they're going to do with us?" Nasreen asked. Restac stood in front of them, between the soldiers but faced the opposite way. A green projection appeared in mid-air of the inside of the church above, looking upwards at the ceiling.

"Who is the ape leader?" Restac demanded. The humans on the other side scrambled around but didn't answer, annoying her, "Who speaks for the apes?" She snapped. Rory approached his end of the projection, becoming larger as he did.

"I speak for the... humans. Some of us, anyway." He stuttered out. Danni giggled slightly.

"Oh look it's Rory. Roman Rory. Rory, Rory Rory..." The Doctor frowned, still concerned about her as she winced.

"What happened?" He asked her gently and she smiled.

"Oh, I just got a little bit dissected. I was closed back up but I don't think it's right, cause Mo doesn't hurt and mine really does. Honestly, this whole dream business is not turning out like I expected."

"Do you understand who we are?" Restac asked harshly, interrupting their moment.

"Sort of. A bit. Not really." Rory admitted.

"We have ape hostages." Restac told him instead and they ran towards the screen as they spotted their families.

"Doctor! Amy!" Rory cried, spotting them on the pillars.

"And me, don't forget me!" Danni cried back, wanting to wave but being unable to. Being tied up really wasn't as fun as she had been told it could be.

"Mo! Mo, are you OK?" A woman asked, who Danni vaguely remembered being his wife. She really hadn't liked this episode so much, mainly because of the ending. She frowned, what happened at the end? She couldn't remembered, her head was so jumbled from the pain she couldn't quite focus.

"I'm fine, love!" Mo told her, "I've found Elliot. I'm bringing him home!" She held her hand to her chest as she began crying in relief.

"Amy! I thought I'd lost you!" Rory told her. Amy smirked slightly, secretly happy to see him.

"What, cause I was sucked into the ground? You're so clingy."

"Tony Mack!" Nasreen called happily, seeing the older man.

"Having fun down there?" He asked.

"Not to interrupt," The Doctor interrupted, "but just a quick reminder to stay calm."

"Show me Alaya. Show me and release her, immediately, unharmed, or we kill your friends," Restac demanded, "one by one."

"No!" Mo's wife cried out angrily.

"Ambrose..." Rory warned, the Doctor's eying them suspiciously.

"Steady now, everyone." The Doctor warned. Danni sighed.

"Something bad's happened, hasn't it?" She muttered and the Doctor grabbed her hand to reassure her.

"Nothing yet, Danni-Girl." He told her and she smiled, her eyes slightly glazed. He had to get her off that pillar so he could check her out properly.

"Ambrose, stop it!" Tony warned his daughter as he pulled back back. She shrugged out of his grip and glared at him.

"Get off me, Dad!" She turned back to the screen, "We didn't start this!"

"Let Rory deal with this Ambrose, eh?" The Doctor told her nervously, worried the woman might threaten everyone's safety.

"We're not doing what you say any more. Now, give me back my family!" Ambrose and Restac stared each other down as everybody watched on tensely.

"No." She replied, "Execute the girl." The soldiers move over and undo Amy as she struggled, everyone protesting in the court and in the church. Rory pushed Ambrose out of the way as he tried to get closer to the screen.

"No! No, wait!" Rory begged.

"Rory!" Amy cried, terrified.

"She's not speaking for us!" Rory tried to explain but the soldiers moved her to the centre of the room.

"There's no need for this..." The Doctor tried, struggling to get free so he could help his friend.

"Listen! Listen! Whatever you want... we'll do it!" Rory begged.

"Aim." Restac commanded and the soldiers lifted their guns.

"Amy!"

"Rory!"

"Don't do this!" The Doctor begged and the projection disappeared from behind the Silurians.

"Fire!" Amy closed her eyes at the command.

"Stop!" A male voice cried and Restac span to see Malokeh entering with another older Silurian.

"Oh yeah, that guy." Danni giggled, "I forgot about him."

"You can't expect to remember everything." The Doctor replied quietly.

"I wish I could..." She trailed off with a groan, "Okay, the pains just pain now. Can they let us go, please?"

"You want to start a war, while the rest of us sleep, Restac?" The elder Silurian asked.

"The apes are attacking us!" Restac protested.

"You're our protector, not our commander, Restac. Unchain them." He commanded. She stood silently for a moment, regarding him.

"I do not recognise your authority at this time, Eldane." She snarled. He sighed and held his hands out at his side.

"Well, then, you must shoot me." Her eyes widened slightly in shock, then knowing she wouldn't she stormed up to Malokeh.

"You woke him to undermine me." She snapped.

"We're not monsters. And neither are they." Malokeh, looking at the group chained up behind them.

"What is it about apes you love so much? Mmm?" She asked.

"While you slept, they've evolved. I've seen it for myself." He explained calmly.

"We used to hunt apes for sport. When we came underground, they bred and polluted this planet." She explained.

"Shush now, Restac." Eldane told her, "Go and play soldiers. I'll let you know if I need you."

"You'll need me, then we'll see." She told him before leaving the room. The soldiers began obeying their leader and unchained the humans, and one Time Lord, from the pillars. As soon as Danni was released her knees gave way underneath her and the Doctor jumped forward to catch her.

"I think I need to sit down." She told him and he helped her sit on one of the many benches at the side of the room.

"Let me have a look." He told her gently and she nodded.

"I don't think you can do anything, though." He gently parted the slit in the middle of her dress, tracing his finger lightly up the scar until he reached her ribs. She squirmed slightly at his touch.

"It's fine; it's been healed properly but the painkillers have probably wore off." He stroked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Can you remember anything about it?" She shook her head.

"Not a thing." She lied and he nodded, standing up.

"You just rest. When we get back to the TARDIS I'll stop it hurting." He kissed the top of her head then stepped into the middle of the room.

"Right, first things first."He pointed his screwdriver into the air and the green projection reappeared, showing Rory walking away from his end.

"Rory!" The Doctor shouted and the man span back around, "Hello!"

"Where's Amy?" He asked worriedly.

"She's fine," The Doctor moved out of the way showing Amy stood slightly awkwardly, "Look, here, she is."

"Oh, thank God."

"Keeping you on your toes!" She told him before moving out of the way of the monitor.

"No time to chat. Listen, you need to get down here... Go to the drill storeroom, there's a large patch of earth in the middle of the floor. The Silurians are going to send up transport discs to bring you back down using geothermal energy and gravity bubble-technology. It's how they travel and frankly it's pretty cool. Bring Alaya. We hand her over, we can land this after all. All going to work, promise. Got to dash! Hurry up!" He explained quickly before shutting the transmission off.

Amy and Nasreen sat across the table in the middle of the room from Eldane as the Doctor, Mo and Malokeh stood to the side. Danni sat on the bench behind them, watching them as the Doctor leant on the table.

"I'd say, you've got a fair bit to talk about." The Doctor told them.

"How so?" Eldane asked.

"You both want the planet. You both have a genuine claim to it."

"Are you authorised to negotiate on behalf of humanity?" He asked the Doctor.

"Me? No! But they are!" He motioned to Danni first then to Nasreen and Amy, who stared back in shock.

"What?!" Nasreen exclaimed.

"No, we're not!" Amy added.

"Or me, for that matter." Danni chipped in, pushing herself up and walking over to the table.

"Course you are!" He told them, walking to stand behind Amy and Nasreen, "Amy Pond, Danielle Fielding and Nasreen Chaudhry, speaking for the planet!" He placed a hand on each of their shoulders, "Humanity couldn't have better ambassadors. Come on, who has more fun than us?" He moved to the opposite end of the table and Amy stood up and walked over to him.

"Is this what happens, in the future, the planet gets shared? Is that what we need to do?" She asked him excitedly. Nasreen frowned and stood up as well.

"What are you talking about?" The Doctor looked at her with a slightly guilty look on his face.

"Oh, Nasreen, sorry, probably worth mentioning at this stage, Amy, Danni and I travel in time, a bit." He held up his fingers to show a little bit, just in case she didn't understand.

"Anything else?" She crossed her arms, annoyed she hadn't been told this little but of information. The Doctor and Amy shared a look and he turned and walked away.

"There are fixed points through time, where things must always stay the way they are. This is not one of them. This is an opportunity, a temporal tipping point. Whatever happens today, will change future events, create its own timeline, its own reality. The future pivots around you. Here. Now. So do good. For humanity, and for Earth."

"Right. No pressure there, then." Amy rolled her eyes and sat back down at the table.

"We can't share the planet. Nobody on the surface is going to go for this idea. It is just too big a leap!" Nasreen pointed out.

"Come on. Be extraordinary." He told her with a grin.

"Oh...you..." She stuttered out before sitting down as well.

"OK." The Doctor slammed his hands down on the table, "Bringing things to order - the first meeting of representatives of the human race and homo reptilian," He motioned between the two species, "is now in session. Ha! Never said that before, that's fab! Carry on!" He pointed at Mo, "Now, Mo, let's go and get your son." He walked over to Mo and the pair headed towards the door.

"Wait, I'm coming too." Danni called out, walking as fast as she could up to the men.

"No, you've got to stay too." The Doctor told her. She grabbed his hand.

"It's not _my_ Earth, is it?" She pointed out, "I'm coming with you and that is final Spaceman." He opened his mouth to protest then sighed and smiled at her.

"Oh, alright. Come along Danni-Girl." They began heading out the door, "Oh, you know, humans, and their predecessors, shooting the breeze. Never thought I'd see it." He told the pair as they headed down the hallway towards Elliot.

_~0~0~0~_

"Doctor, really, I need to tell you something." Danni insisted as they followed Mo to where Elliot had been stored.

"Not now." He dismissed and she growled in frustration.

"It's about Alaya!" She cried and he paused then turned to look at her.

"Alaya?" She nodded and opened her mouth to explain about the dead Silurian when Mo cried out, seeing where his son was being held. Malokeh was stood outside the booth checking the vital signs of the young boy. Danni stopped slightly back, not really feeling comfortable near the Silurian who had cut her open, even though she felt silly being scared of a figment of her own imagination. Well, technically someone else created the race, but... Oh it was too complicated. The Doctor squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her that she was safe.

"I was just checking the young human was stable." The scientist explained.

"We're here to get him out." Malokeh nodded. The Doctor moved over to look at him through the window on the door, seeing him suspended there.

"Elliot, there you are." He breathed. Malokeh began using the panel next to the door to revive him, pushing his thumb against it.

"If you've harmed him in any way…" Mo warned, still slightly freaked out by the entire affair.

"Of course not!" He promised before turning to the Doctor, "I only store the young."

"But why?" The Doctor asked. Malokeh smiled widely.

"I took samples of the young, slowed their lifecycles to a millionth of their normal rate. So I could study how they grew, what they needed, how they lived on the surface." He told him passionately.

"You've been down here, working by yourself, all alone?" The Doctor asked with a hint of a grin.

"My family, through the millennia..." Malokeh told him, "For the last 300 years, just me." He turned to face Mo, "I never meant to harm your child or your mate." The Doctor blushed faintly, as he was addressed "I just wanted to know more about the humans I'd watch grow."

"Malokeh, if you hadn't cut up my Danni-Girl I'd rather love you." The Doctor placed his fist on top of Malokeh's gloved one, and with a smile Malokeh tapped the top of it a couple times with his other.

"It's safe. We can wake him." The scientist pressed the large button on the panel and the door slid open. He stepped into the room and removed the machinery from Elliot, "Come." He told Mo, beckoning him forward. They swapped places as Elliot began blinking, waking up from his stasis.

"Elliot? Ell, it's Dad." Mo asked, trying to get a response out of his son.

"What...? Dad." The boy stated happily and they hugged, Mo clinging to his son, so happy he had finally gotten him back.

"You're safe now." He promised as he let Elliot go.

"Where are we?"

"Well, I've got to be honest with you, son. We're in the centre of the Earth... and there are lizard men." He explained, frowning slightly as he still couldn't quite believe it was happening. Elliot looked over at the doorway where the Doctor, Danni and Malokeh stood. Malokeh waved slightly, grinning widely, obviously ecstatic to interact with the human child.

"Wow." Elliot breathed, impressed. The Doctor gave Danni's hand another squeeze before stepping into the room, wringing his hands slightly.

"Elliot, I'm sorry." He apologised, "I took my eye off you." Elliot studied him for a moment and, seeing his sincerity, smiled.

"It's OK. I forgive you." He held his hand out and with a huge grin the Doctor shook it. Mo patted his son's back, so proud of his forgiving and accepting nature and the trio stepped out of the room into the hallway. The Doctor grabbed Danni's hand and they set off down the hallway back towards the courtroom.

"You go on, Doctor." The Doctor paused to look back at Malokeh, "I'm going to get your mate some more painkillers. I'll catch up." He nodded with a grateful smile and they continued on. Danni frowned to herself. She felt that she should warn the Doctor about Alaya, but there was nothing they could do about it now. The Doctor she had watched on television hadn't known, but then again the Doctor she had watched on television hadn't half-dragged her down a hallway, eager to get back and see how the negotiations were going on. In the show, the discovery of Alaya triggered an attack on the humans, which was counter attacked and eventually led to Rory not existing. The following series of events would take them to the Pandorica, which would in turn lead to the Doctor rebooting the universe and saving everyone from certain annihilation. What if she changed that, and doomed the universe?

She kept silent; the damage was done for now, she would ask him about it later when he explained what the hell was going on.

_~0~0~0~_

_My lord, look at all you beautiful people reading/reviewing/following/favouriting this! I never really know what to say, except thank you, so THANK YOU! :)_

_Just a quick answer to a review; yes, she will meet River, but not for a while yet :) _


	7. The Failed Alliance

_Here's the next part :) Hope you enjoy it, and if you feel up to it drop me review, or a follow although no pressure or anything :)  
Edit: Changed a couple things, just the references to the Doctor. Special thanks to blackcat711 for the changes, you're right and it sounds better too :)  
_

The talk between Nasreen, Amy and Eldane seemed to be getting no where. With one suggestion came a reasonable counter-argument and the three were becoming more irate as the tried to come to so happy medium. Eldane brought up a green three-dimensional projection of Planet Earth so they could visualise any suggestions they may have had. Amy stared at it before smiling to herself and standing up.

"So, erm, what about the areas that aren't habitable to us?" She asked as she span the picture around, "Australian outback, Sahara desert, Nevada plains...They're all deserted." She told the elder Silurian. They were lizard people, and lizards thrived in desert conditions. Maybe they were the same, in fact maybe they would prefer it to the damp areas humans enjoyed. Nasreen grabbed her by the arm and pulled her down, turning on the bench so they were huddled together.

"Yes, fine, but what happens when their population grows and breeds and spreads? And anyway, what benefit does humanity get, and how would we ever sell this to people on the surface?" She asked; this was a monumental task, one she wasn't sure anyone was ready for. Amy opened her mouth to reply.

"If I could get a word in," Eldane tried and the two females turned to him, slightly embarrased at ignoring him, "Maybe I could tell you. You give us space, we can bring new sources of energy, new methods of water supply, new medicines, scientific advances. We were a great civilisation. You provide a place for us on the surface, we'll give you knowledge and technology beyond humanity's dreams. We work together, this planet could achieve greatness."

"OK. Now I'm starting to see it." Nasreen replied with a smile and Amy planted her hands on the table in front of her.

"Oh, yeah." They were all startled by a sudden applause as the Doctor, Mo, Danni and Elliot reentered the courtroom. Danni was clinging to the Doctor's arm and as soon as he had finished clapping her wrapped it around her waist, keeping her steady. She was starting to feel the full effects of the pain in her abdomen, all she wanted to do now was sleep.

"Not bad for a first session. More similarities than differences." He said. A noise and a bright yellow light had them all looking at the doorway they had just entered.

"The transport has returned. Your friends are here." Eldane explained. The Doctor grinned and helped Danni sit down on one of the spectator benches and she wrapped an arm around her stomach, resting the other elbow on it and rubbing her forehead. She hoped Malokeh returned with the painkillers soon, she was starting to feel quite dizzy. She squeezed her eyes together and took a slow, deep breath in through her mouth, releasing it purposefully.

"Here they are!"The Doctor cried and she opened her eyes to see Rory and Ambrose entering. Rory looked so sad as Elliot ran over to his mum, hugging her tightly.

"Mum!" She clung to him, relieved that he was okay.

"Rory!" Amy shouted, trying to keep the sound of just how happy she was to see him out of her voice. Rory stared back, his mouth moving up and down as he tried to figure out what to say.

"Something's wrong..." The Doctor frowned as Tony entered carrying something in an orange blanket.

"Doctor, what's he carrying?" Amy asked and the Doctor stepped forward, his hearts dropping in his chest.

"No. Don't do this. Tell me you didn't do this." Tony placed the body on the floor and the Doctor bent down, moving a piece of the cloth and revealing Alaya. Eldane stared down at his citizen sadly while Amy looked at Rory for answers. The Doctor covered her face back up and glared at Tony.

"What did you do?" He demanded.

"It was me. I did it." Ambrose stated. Elliot turned around, pulling out of her grasp slightly.

"Mum?" He asked quietly.

"I just wanted you back." She explained, trying to hold onto him but he pushed away and walked back over to his father. The Doctor walked over to Eldane.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. You have to believe me, they're better than this." He pressed.

"This is our planet!" Ambrose interrupted and he span around.

"We had a chance here." He told her.

"Leave us alone." She continued and the Doctor stormed up to her, towering over her.

"In future, when you talk about this, you tell people there was a chance but you were so much less than the best of humanity. And you!" He turned to face Danni, seeing her doubled over in pain, her eyes squeezed shut. She didn't want to see Alaya, not in person. He deflated slightly and walked up, kneeling in front of her and placed a hand on her knee. She opened her eyes, slightly worried about what he was going to say to her, "And you tried to warn me." He told her gently, "You wanted to help. Look at you," He stroked her cheek gently, "You're in so much pain, but you've never once blamed anyone else." She smiled weakly.

"I can't blame anyone for being curious." She explained, "I wasn't sure if I should even tell you, who knows how I might have messed up the timeline." He stood up and kissed her on the forehead. He turned around, determined to try and fix this when the sound of matching filled the room and armed soldiers flooded the room, aiming their guns at the group in the middle.

"My sister." Restac called as she entered. There was no reply and she looked around, searching for Alaya when her eyes fell on the shrouded body. She knelt down next to it, uncovering her sister. She let a loud, heartbroken wail out and everyone in the room reacted to her mournful cry. She covered her back up and looked up at the door, hurt and hatred in her eyes, "And you want us to trust these apes, Doctor?"

"One woman. She was scared for her family. She's not typical." he argued. Restac shot up and span to face Ambrose.

"I think she is." She hissed.

"Are you saying you wouldn't kill for your child? Do anything to ensure they're safe?" Danni defended from the sidelines but was ignored. Seeing Restac was not about to listen to him, the Doctor turned to Eldane.

"One person let us down. But there's a whole race of dazzling, peaceful human beings up there. You were building something, here, come on...an alliance could work." He pleaded.

"It's too late for that, Doctor." Ambrose told him and he looked at her questioningly. Tony ran his hand through his hair, disappointed in himself and his daughter over what they had done.

"Why?"

"Our drill is set to start burrowing again in..." Ambrose pulled out a stopwatch, "15 minutes."

"What?" Nasreen looked at Tony who motioned to his grandson.

"What choice did I have? They had Elliot." He explained.

"Don't do this, don't call their bluff." The Doctor snapped.

"Let us go back. And you promise to never come to the surface ever again. We'll walk away, leave you alone." Restac growled.

"Execute her!" She screamed.

"No!" The Doctor grabbed Ambrose, pulling her out of the way of the soldier's fire just in time before shoving her towards the exit, "Everybody, back to the lab! Run!" He grabbed Danni by the hand, holding her behind him as he held up the sonic screwdriver.

"Execute all the apes!" Restac shouted. The Doctor activated it, spinning on the spot as the guns exploded one by one.

"This is a deadly weapon - stay back." He warned as they both made their way to the exit. One of the soldier's climbed up the benches and shot at the pair with her tongue, hoping to get a direct hit. The Doctor dodged out of the way, throwing Danni into the opposite wall. She screamed in pain, falling to the ground. The Doctor helped her back up and they ran out of the room.

"Take everyone to the lab!" He called after Rory, who was just ahead of them. One of the soldier's shot at them and he manoeuvered them out of the way before turning around to face the approaching Silurians, "I'll cover you! Go! Go!" The Doctor held out the sonic screwdriver and used it on their guns, causing them to spark and explode in their hands. Restac rushed forward but he pointed the screwdriver at her.

"Ah-ah! Stop right there! Or I'll use my very deadly weapon again. One warning, that's all you get. If there can be no deal, you go back into hibernation. All of you. Now. This ends here." He told them.

"No! It only ends with our victory." Restac replied.

"Like I said... one warning." He set off the screwdriver again, disabling the last two guns before they followed the rest of the humans into the lab. He locked the door and turned to the room.

"Elliot, you and your dad keep your eyes on that screen. Let me know if we get company. Amy," He threw the stopwatch at Amy, "Keep reminding me how much time I haven't got. Danni, you sit down." He moved her over to a chair near Tony and she lowered herself into it. Mo and Elliot watched the monitor, looking outside the door over the surveillance cameras.

"OK, 12 minutes till drill impact." Amy told him.

"Tony Mack!" He rubbed a finger across the man's forehead, "sweaty forehead, dilated pupils, what're you hiding?" Tony opened the top of his shirt, pulling it apart and showing off the green veins that extended from a wound on his neck. Nasreen gasped at the sight.

"Tony! What happened?!" She asked, horrified. The Doctor scanned the area with his screwdriver.

"Alaya's sting. She said there's no cure. I'm dying, aren't I?" The Doctor moved to the centre console and held the screwdriver to one of the monitors.

"You're not dying, you're mutating." He replied, amazed. An image of Tony's DNA appeared on the screen, the shape twisting as it changed.

"How can I stop it?" Tony asked.

"Decontamination program!" The Doctor exclaimed, "Might work - don't know. Eldane, can you run the program on Tony?" He asked the only Silurian in the room.

"Doctor, shedload of those creatures coming our way! We're surrounded in here!" Mo cried from the other side of the room, the monitor filled with marching soldiers. Eldane helped Tony out of his chair across the room to the decontamination chamber as the Doctor began pacing.

"So, question is, how we do stop the drill, given we can't get there in time? Plus also, how do we get out, given that we're surrounded?" He stopped and knelt by Danni, "Danni-Girl, tell me what to do." Her brow furrowed as he looked at her almost pleadingly and she realised he wanted to make up for ignoring her about Alaya.

"You could use a, err... An energy pulse thing, shoot it at the drill and destroy it before it hits." She replied slowly, knowing he must have already worked that out. He smiled anyway, as if he was proud of her for knowing what to do and she grinned, suddenly feeling very useful. He stood up and moved over to Nasreen.

"Nasreen, how d'you feel about an energy pulse, channelled up through the tunnels to the base of the drill?" He asked.

"To blow up my life's work?" She asked angrily.

"Yes. Sorry. No nice way of putting that." He replied apologetically.

"Right, well, you're going to have to do it before the drill hits the city, in..." she trailed off, upset but knowing it was the only option. The Doctor patted her on the shoulder sympathetically before rushing over to the centre console.

"11 minutes, 40 seconds..." Amy called from across the room.

"Yes! Squeaky bum time!" The Doctor rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Yes, but the explosion is going to cave in all the surrounding tunnels so we have to be on the surface by then." Nasreen pointed out.

"But we can't get past Restac's troops." Rory added.

"I can help with that..." Eldane started, causing everyone to look around at him as he stepped out of the decontamination chamber, "Toxic Fumigation - an emergency failsafe meant to protect my species from infection. A warning signal to occupy cryo-chambers. After that, citywide fumigation, by toxic gas. Then the city shuts down." He explained.

"You could end up killing your own people." Amy stated sadly, stepping towards him. He nodded gravely.

"Only those foolish enough to follow Restac."

"Eldane, are you sure about this?" The Doctor pressed, it was a lot for anyone to do, kill any amount of people of their own race. He should know.

"My priority is my race's survival. The Earth isn't ready for us to return yet." He replied.

"No." The Doctor stated loudly, almost in protest.

"10 minutes, Doctor." Amy reminded him and he shook his head.

"But maybe it should be." He continued quietly. He stepped out from behind the console, "So here's the deal. Everybody listening? Eldane, you activate shutdown... I'll amend the system, set your alarm for 1,000 years' time." He clapped his hand on Eldane's arm and the elder set to work, "1,000 years, to sort the planet out. To be ready. Pass it on. As legend, or prophesy, or religion, but somehow, make it known. This planet is to be shared." He explained to the humans. Elliot smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. I get you." The Doctor shot him a grin.

"Nine minutes, seven seconds." The Doctor ran around to join Eldane at the controls, wiggling his fingers in the air excitedly.

"Yes, fluid controls, my favourite! Energy pulse timed, primed and set. Before we go, energy barricade, need to cancel it out – quickly." He pointed his screwdriver at the screen and on the surface the force field over the area was deactivated.

"Fumigation pre-launching." Eldane informed him. Rory moved over to them.

"There's not much time for us to get from here to the surface, Doctor!" He pointed out urgently.

"Ah-ha, super-squeaky bum time!" The Doctor replied happily, still typing on the console. Elliot smiled at him, enjoying the impossible man and Danni pushed herself up and moved over, hugging the boy around the shoulder.

"Impressive, isn't he?" She whispered and he nodded.

"Get ready to run for your lives. Now..." The Doctor clapped his hands.

"But the decontamination program on your friend hasn't started yet." Eldane interrupted and they all looked at Tony, who with some effort moved out of the chamber.

"Well, go. All of you! Go." He told them, motioning to the door.

"No, we're not leaving you here!" Ambrose cried.

"Granddad!" Elliot broke out from under Danni's arm and ran over, hugging him tightly.

"Eight minutes, 10 seconds." Amy warned.

"Now you look after your mum." Tony told Elliot, looking down at him with a smile, "You mustn't blame her. She only did what she thought was right."

"I'm not going to see you again, am I?" Elliot asked sullenly.

"I'll be here." He placed a on his chest above his heart, "Always. I love you, boy." He hugged him tightly, "You be sure he gets home safe!" He told his daughter as he pushed Elliot over to his family.

"This is my fault." Ambrose sobbed and he shook his head.

"No, I can't go back up there. I'd be a freak show. The technology down here's my only hope." The pair hugged tightly.

"I love you, Dad." She whispered. Nasreen looked away, devastated at the thought of losing her best friend. Danni moved over to her.

"I think you should stay." She whispered, "Don't give up what you've only just found." Nasreen shot her a confused look and Tony finally let his daughter go.

"Go. Go. Come on.. Go on." The Doctor nodded at Eldane, who activated the control on the screen. The room went dark for just a moment before auxiliary lighting bathed it in a slightly green glow.

"Toxic fumigation initiated." A voice rang out over the tannoy, "Return to cryo-chambers." Amy ran over to the screen showing the hallway outside the door.

"They're going! We're clear!" She told them.

"OK. Everyone follow Nasreen. Look for a blue box. Get ready to run." The Doctor stated as he moved over to the door, using the sonic screwdriver on the control pad and it unlocked. He moved over to Eldane, "I'm sorry." He apologised sadly and the Silurian nodded.

"I thought for a moment, our race, and the humans..."

"Yeah. Me too."

"Doctor!" Amy cried, "We've got less than six minutes."

"Go! Go! I'm right behind you!" Everyone rushed from the room except Nasreen, Danni and the Doctor, "Let's go." He told Nasreen before turning and grabbing Danni's hand. Nasreen stepped forward slightly but had no intention on running anywhere.

"I'm not coming either."

"What?" He asked as he turned around, thoroughly surprised. She moved over to Tony in the decontamination chamber and placed both hands on his arm.

"We're going to hibernate with them, me and Tony." She explained.

"Doctor, you must go!" Eldane insisted, knowing there was only a little time before the fumigation began.

"I can be decontaminated when we're woken. All the time in the world." Tony continued, looking fondly down at Nasreen, who replied with a soft smile.

"But... Nasreen... you..." The Doctor stuttered. She walked up to him.

"No. This is perfect. I don't want to go." She told him determinedly, "Danni's right, I've got what I was digging for. I can't leave when I've only just found it." The Doctor looked down at Danni, who let go of his hand and hugged Nasreen.

"It was an honour meeting you." Danni stated sincerely as Amy ran back into the room.

"Doctor! Danni." Danni let go of Nasreen and moved over to Amy.

"Thank you, Doctor." Nasreen told him and he smiled, hugging her.

"The pleasure was all mine." He grabbed Danni's hand and the trio headed for the door.

"Come and look for us." Nasreen called after them and the doors slid shut. They began running towards the TARDIS, entering a plant filled tunnel as Rory came bounding towards them, obviously looking for Amy.

"Other way, idiot!" She snapped and he span, running back the way he came.

"Doctor!" Danni cried out in pain, stumbling and letting go of his hand. The strain of running was starting to hit her and her vision went white as her abdomen screamed in protest. She hit the floor with a thud, skidding and taking a layer of skin off her knees. The Doctor turned and fell to the floor next to her, holding her face in his hands.

"This is not the time Danni!" He scolded her but she weakly pushed his hands off her face.

"I feel funny..." She slurred out before passing out. The Doctor caught her before she fell forward and smashed her head on the floor. He scooped her up and stood up.

"Come on!" He cried to the Ponds and they began running again.

_~0~0~0~_

Danni groaned, her eyes fluttering open as she stared at the ceiling of the hospital she was lying in. She frowned as images of green men and bowties filled her mind as she tried to recall what had happened. The examination bed she seemed to be lying on was quite hard and her stomach protested at being laid out so straight. She smiled slightly to herself. All just a dream. She sat up, swinging her legs over the side and looking around. That was a shame, she was really enjoying herself. Maybe a doctor could explain what had happened to her.

"You're awake!" A boy ran in and she stared back it him, wide-eyed, "This place is amazing! It's bigger on the inside! I think we're going to fly soon, dad's just helping mum." Elliot told her and she jumped off the bed.

"No, no. I can't... I have to get to the Doctor!" She cried as she ran out of the room, past the confused Welsh boy and down the hallways, coming to the console room of the TARDIS as the Doctor pulled a hysterical Amy in and locked the doors.

"Let me out, please let me out... I need to get Rory." Amy sobbed as she pounded on the door, trying to get to her fiancé. The Doctor walked determinedly to the console, leaning on it and breathing heavily as he fought himself not to let her out. She turned to face a monitor and saw the crack on the wall outside spewing light onto Rory's body. Danni sighed, closing her eyes, she hadn't been able to stop it. Rory was about to be eaten by the crack. She had hoped she hadn't been too late.

"That light, if his body's absorbed I'll forget him. He'll never have existed." Amy said as she stepped towards it before turning to face the Doctor, "You can't let that happen." She begged. The Doctor didn't look at her, instead pulled a lever on the console to set them into flight.

"What are you doing?" Amy shouted angrily, running toward the Doctor.

"Amy!" Danni cried out, grabbing the redhead to stop her attacking the Doctor and stopping them flying away. Amy just shoved her off and onto the floor, Danni crying out in pain. Amy rushed over and tried to force the Doctor to let go of the lever.

"Doctor! No!" She screamed desperately. He span her around and tried to hug her as she smacked him in the chest with her fists as she tried to get away.

"No! No! Doctor, we can't just leave him there!" She pleaded, grabbing onto his shoulders as she collapsed into sobs.

"Keep him in your mind." He told her, grabbing her arms tightly to hold her up, "Don't forget him. If you forget him, you'll lose him forever." He told her firmly.

"On the Byzantium, I still remembered the Clerics because I am a time traveller, now you said."

"They weren't part of your world." He told her, taking her head in his hands, "This is different...this is your own history changing."

"Don't! Tell me it's going to be OK. You have to make it OK."

"It's going to be hard, but you can do it, Amy." He kissed her on the forehead before taking her to the jump seat and sitting her down. He knelt down in front of her her, "Tell me about Rory. Fantastic Rory, funny Rory, gorgeous Rory. Amy, listen to me. Do exactly as I say. Amy, please. Keep concentrating. You can do this." He encouraged her as she stared past him. She shook her head.

"I can't." She whispered.

"You can. You can do it. I can't help you unless you do. Come on. We can still save his memory. Come on, Amy." She stared over his shoulder, frowning as she tried to remember, "Please…" He begged her, "Come on, Amy, come on. Amy, please. Don't let anything distract you." He continued as her memories of Rory began to fade out of view, "Remember Rory. Keep remembering, Rory is only alive in your memory. You must keep hold of him. Don't let anything distract you. Rory still lives in your mind." The TARDIS jolted as it landed back up on the surface, sending Danni skidding towards them and the pair flying to the floor. Amy's engagement ring fell in front of the Doctor's face as the three laid on the floor panting. Amy used the jump chair to pull herself up.

"What were you saying?" She asked him brightly, Rory and his death completely forgotten. Danni looked at the Doctor, who stared at her sadly. Mo, Ambrose and Elliot joined them, walking down the stairs happily.

"I have seen some things today, but this is beyond mad." Mo told his family breathlessly, completely perplexed. Amy reached around her to where the stopwatch had fallen.

"Doctor! Five seconds till it all goes up!" She told him. They all ran outside just in time to see the drill explode.

_~0~0~0~_

"So, are you going to tell me what's going on?" The Doctor looked up from the ring he was holding to see Danni, now in a blue dress similar to what she had been wearing, coming down the stairs towards him.

"You should be resting." he scolded lightly.

"Yeah well, who has time for that rubbish? Lying down is so boring." She jumped down the last couple of stairs, "Plus, I'm fine now. And Amy will be too." He glanced back down at the engagement ring.

"You sound so sure." He muttered and she closed the lid on the box.

"I am, trust me." He studied her for a moment then smiled, pulling her in for a hug.

"I'll always trust you." He told her before holding her out at arms length, "So, when have you just come from?"

"The Runaway Bride." She replied. He frowned.

"What?"

"You know, with Donna? Her wedding day? The Racnoss?" He nodded.

"Ah, that was your first trip wasn't it? You thought you were dreaming."

"I am dreaming." She insisted, "I mean, there is no way this can actually be real. I mean, you're the Doctor." She waved up and down at him, "This is so a dream."

"You have a Vortex Manipulator attatched to your arm, and it is a fixed point. It is always there, it always was and always will be." He took hold of her arm and slid the sleeve of her cardigan up, "It'll never come off." She frowned and tried to undo the straps.

"They're not coming off." She told him. Just like last time, it felt like her fingers were just gliding over the straps. She couldn't grab the buckle to undo it, it was if it was just a printed picture.

"You told me you got it as a gift off your friend, but it malfunctioned and you landed on the TARDIS with Donna." He explained, "It sets off without warning and you get shot through time and space. We've never met in the right order."

"I don't understand. This can't happen, time travel doesn't exist. YOU don't exist. And I'm just supposed to believe that I'm here? What about my mum and dad? Do I ever go home?" She blinked and her eyes went wide, "Hold on, are you telling me that I actually was dissected?" He nodded, "And that I was actually looking at a supernova?" He could tell she was getting upset and he grabbed her hand, pulling her to the stairs where he sat down and pulled her onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently pushed her to lean her head on his shoulder.

"I know it sounds horrible." he began gently, "But we have so much fun together. We do so many amazing things, go to beautiful planets and help so many people. And you, my amazing Danni-Girl, always know what to do. And you're never scared, and you have told me that you'd never go back." She sniffed and hugged him as she cried, "I wasn't lying, you are my best friend. Throughout everything, you're the only person who is always there."

"I'm scared now." She whispered. He kissed the side of her head.

"No you're not, you're just overwhelmed. I know what that's like. You need to go to bed."

"No I don't." He laughed at her childish protesting and pulled back, wiping her tears away.

"Yes, you do. If you came straight from Donna to here, you haven't slept properly in almost 48 hours. You're tired." She shook her head, pouting and crossing her arms.

"Make me Spaceman." She challenged and he scooped her up into his arms, much to her protests. She waited until they reached the top of the stairs before starting to struggle, not wanting to chuck them both down the metal staircase.

"Put me down right now!" She demanded but he just kept laughing, "You think this is funny? I don't believe you understand the world of hurt coming your way when I get free."

"'World of hurt'?" He repeated and she glared at him, then deflated slightly.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't think I'll say that again. Still, put me down, my stomach's starting to hurt." He did put her down, but held onto her hand.

"So, I just jump around time and space? What if I land somewhere I've never heard off, or in like a volcano or something?" She asked him.

"You jump around my personal timeline. We've never worked out why, though."

"Oh thank god. I thought I might like, you know, appear in the middle of space and my head explode from the vacuum or something." He shook his head and stopped her outside a door, "But if I'm with you, at least I'll be alive." He brought her hand up and kissed her knuckles.

"I'd never let anything happen to you." He promised her. She looked at her hand and then up at him.

"Can I ask you a question?" He looked at her concerned.

"Sure."

"Have you always been so touchy-feely? Ten wasn't." He blushed slightly and turned her to face the door, letting go of her hand.

"Well, he didn't know you as long as I have, obviously. Do you want me to stop?" She shook her head.

"I didn't say that, did I Spaceman?" His hand snaked to rest in the small of her back.

"Now, this is your room. You designed it way back when I was my ninth self, so I hope you still like it. Or, will like it."

"I know, tenses are hard." She replied and gently pushed it open. The room was just like her bedroom at her parents house; browns and creams with a desk in one corner and a double bed in the middle of one wall.

"Ah, I see I went for a bit of home. I like it." She stepped in and turned around, "I suppose it doesn't get much use, though. I can't really stay still long enough if I'm jumping around constantly."

"Sometimes you stay for a few days, or even a week or two. Sometimes you don't, but the room is always there for you to sleep in. You told me it was your little bit of consistency." She nodded vaguely.

"That does sound like me." She conceded. She turned to him, "I hate that I find it so easy to believe you." He frowned.

"Why?"

"Because this isn't right, none of this is right. I mean this sort of thing just doesn't happen in life, does it? But, I just don't think you're lying to me. It seems odd I can believe something so peculiar so quickly." She smiled softly at him, "Thank you."

"What for?"

"For being so nice. And not making fun of me for thinking this was a dream. And letting me have a room on the TARDIS. Lots of things, really." She hugged him this time, and he squeezed her tightly, resting his head on hers.

"Anytime, Danni-Girl." He kissed the top of her head before pulling away, "Now, go to bed. You're still tired. Your pyjamas and other nighttime outfits should still be in the chest of drawers." She smirked at him.

"And how do you know where all my clothes are?" He blushed and she laughed, "Oh I'm just teasing you. Shoo, I'm going to get changed." She closed the door as he left then leant against it, looking around the room. Everything seemed so surreal. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again and looking around the room. It was exactly like her room at home, down to the pictures of her friends on the noticeboard above her bed. She knelt down and felt the carpet, it felt slightly worn as it should have because it hadn't been redecorated in a couple of years. This _was_ her room at her parents. She stood up and stared at the door. If she opened that door, the hallway outside the room would lead to the stairs to the front room, she just knew it. She nodded once and threw it open, revealing the grey metal of the TARDIS. She slammed it shut and walked over to the bed, sitting down on the edge, her feet barely reaching the floor.

"This is really happening." She stated out loud, although no one was there to hear her. Poor Claire. She would have just walked into the front room and she would have been gone. Claire'll never see her again and she would never know why. Neither would her parents. Her eyes stung as tears welled up. Would they become like them parents you see on the news, constantly fighting for closure decades after their children have disappeared? A sob broke out from her throat and she shook. What if they all just forgot about her? What if coming here she was wiped from her own universe? No one would miss her. She had no home now, no family. She curled up on the edge of her new bed, hugging her knees to her chest as she cried.

No one would care.

_~0~0~0~_


	8. The First Morning

The one thing Danni could always do is sleep; no matter how devastated she was, if she was comfy she could and would fall asleep. So, when she had woken up the next day, or what she thought was the next day as it proved to be very hard to follow time in a time-travelling blue box, she had headed out into the TARDIS hallway and wandered through the labyrinth it presented. She smiled slightly to herself, it was if the box knew she didn't want to see anyone or think about anything. And, knowing the TARDIS, it probably did. She peeked into doors on her way around, finding the library and what appeared to be home theatre, before stumbling on a kitchen with Amy sat at the little table cradling a cup of tea. Amy smiled and she shot a half-hearted one back.

"Hi, how are you feeling?" Amy asked her and Danni shrugged, moving towards the kettle and putting it on.

"Strange. Sad, I suppose." Danni replied, "I don't think I'm overly sad though. Maybe it's not sunk in yet that I'm stuck here with no control over my own life anymore." She murmured to herself more than Amy, a fleeting flash of anger rushing over her before being replaced by the quiet numbness she had woken up with. Amy looked over at her, confused at what she had said but didn't say anything as Danni poured herself a cup of tea of her own and sat across from her, blowing on it gently.

"What's wrong?" Danni asked her after she become uncomfortable under Amy's gaze.

"You're really strange like this." Amy told her bluntly, "Every time I've met you, you loved every minute of it and yet you look like you hate it here. The Danni I know just loves to be with the Doctor." Danni shrugged.

"I'm not her yet, am I?" She replied, "The Doctor said I jump around in random order, so I'm sure by the time you meet me for the first time I'll be okay with it, but right now I'm not. How many times have you met me?" She asked suddenly and Amy blinked, surprised.

"You told me that I'm not allowed to tell you in case it's not happened to you yet." Amy told her.

"I haven't said that yet, have I? You don't have to give me details, just numbers." Amy frowned, not very happy with that but seeing the girl needed something counted up their adventures.

"This is number six." Danni thought on it for a moment, counting the Pond episodes up that point.

"I'm quite persistent in your life, aren't I?" Danni asked and Amy let out a laugh.

"Yes. I suppose you are. I wouldn't call it persistent though."

"Why, what would you call it?"

"Welcomed." Amy replied instantly and Danni smiled happily.

"I don't bother you then? You know, just popping up here and there?" Amy shook her head.

"No you don't. That's the way you've always been." The conversation trailed off for a moment and they both sipped their tea in a comfortable silence before Amy shifted so she was facing Danni better.

"Did you really think this was a dream?" She asked and Danni nodded with an apologetic smile.

"Yeah, sorry. I should have known though, this has none of the M.O. of one of my Doctor Who dreams."

"Oh? And how do they normally go? Are they dirty?" Amy probed excitedly and Danni giggled before blushing slightly.

"Sometimes." She admitted and Amy laughed, "But not normally. It tends to involve the Doctor proclaiming his undying love for me on some crystal moon and then something peculiar happening; like Clanger's appearing and us having a Clanger wedding. Or, once, you turned up as a teacher at my university and kept scolding me for speaking 'too English'" They both laughed together and Danni bit a grin back.

"You know, Amelia Pond." Danni began, "You're a lot more welcoming than I thought you might have been."

"Why? Did you think I'd persecute the English girl?" They both laughed again as Danni shook her head.

"No, I thought you might have been dead possessive of the Doctor and wouldn't like another girl on the TARDIS." Amy shrugged.

"You're not another girl, you're Danni-Girl. His Danni-Girl. If I didn't want you here _I_ wouldn't be here, he wouldn't allow anyone in who didn't like you." Danni blushed at the thought.

"He does seem to like me, which is probably a good sign if I'm going to be jumping around him for the unforeseeable future." She replied as the door opened and the Doctor strode in.

"There you are. What are you doing hiding in here? Having a girly chat about girl things like hair and shoes and boys?" He sat down next to Danni, taking her cup of tea out of hand and drinking it. Danni's mouth fell open.

"Hey! I wasn't done with that!" She snatched it back and he pouted.

"Come on, I want a cup of tea." He whined and she gripped it tighter.

"Then get your own, Spaceman. This is mine." He looked at her, eyes wide and bottom lip out in his best rendition of a puppy-dog face but she just stared back before sighing in defeat and handing it to him.

"I give in to you a lot, don't I?" She asked as he grinned and kissed her on the cheek before nodding and taking a sip.

"All the time." He told her and she sighed again.

"Great. A spoilt Time Lord. Just what I need..." She trailed off and looked down at her arm as the Vortex Manipulator strapped there began burning, getting hotter and hotter like it had with Ten.

"Why's it burning?" She asked. The Doctor put the drink down and shot her a sad smile.

"It means you're about to leave again." She hissed in pain, clutching at it.

"Does it always hurt?" She whimpered and he nodded before in a bright light they were gone and the room was replaced by a dark metal box.

"Oh Danni, am I glad to see you!" She looked to her left and saw Donna in one corner in a huge duffle coat. She frowned before gasping as the chill in the air caught her and goosebumps covered her arms.

"Oh my god it's freezing!" She cried. Donna grabbed her and pulled her closer, unzipping her coat and letting the younger ginger woman huddle in it, never taking her eyes of the other corner of the room. Danni looked over to see a group of Ood staring back at them.

"Oh it's the Ood. I like an Ood." She told Donna before thinking back, "Hold on, are we in a storage container?" Donna nodded.

"Yeah. I got locked in here by the bloody security." She explained before addressing the Ood, "Can you help us?" One of the Ood raised it's head to look at them, revealing a pair of deep red eyes, "Oh, no you don't." Donna warned it.

"Ah, red-eye. Not so good."

"What have we done? We're not one of that lot. We're on your side!" Donna insisted as the rest of the Ood looked at them, now all with red eyes, "Stay where you are, that's an order! I said stay!" She commanded, "Doctor! Doctor!" She called. Danni moved out of Donna's jacket and began banging on the locked doors.

"Doctor, get us out!" She screamed.

"Doctor, get us out of here!" Donna screamed.

"Doctor, I swear if you don't open this door RIGHT NOW I'm gonna kick your arse!" Danni swore, continuing to bang hard.

"If you don't do what they say," She heard a voice say just outside the door and she halted her banging, "you're really in trouble. Not from me - from them. They're both red-head's, you know?"

"Unlock the container." Another voice commanded. The door opened and Donna rushed out

"Doctor!" She cried, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back before letting her go, making way for Danni who practically jumped him as she hugged him.

"There we go, safe and sound." He told her gently, stroking her hair to try and comfort her.

"Yeah, what about them?" Donna asked as the Ood began leaving the container. One approached a guard and held it's orb up to his head, setting it off with a spark of electricity and killing the man.

"Red alert! Fire! " The head guard screamed and the guards turned to the Ood, shooting them down. The Doctor grabbed Danni's hand and the trio began running away, dodging random bullets bouncing off other containers, "Shoot to kill!" They heard the man cry as they were joined by another woman who Danni recognised as the sales woman. They ran out of the warehouse and continued until they were a safe distance away before pausing for breath.

"My god, it's so cold!" Danni exclaimed. The Doctor shrugged off his overcoat and draped it over her shoulders with a smile, "I didn't mean for you to give me your jacket." She told him gently.

"Can't have you getting a cold, Danni-Girl." He told her and she smiled shyly, pulling it tighter. If this was real, and as much as she tried to deny it she knew it was, then the Doctor was being nice and protective not because her subconscious wanted him to, but because _he_ wanted to. She didn't really know how to feel about that. Part of her was slightly suspicious as to why he was being so nice, the other part was jumping up and down like a school girl.

"If the people back on Earth knew what was going on here..." Donna started, panting.

"Don't be stupid." The sales woman interrupted, "Of course they know."

"They know how you treat the Ood?"

"They don't ask. Same thing."

"Solana," The Doctor butted in before an argument started, "The Ood aren't born like this. They can't be. A species born to serve could never evolve in the first place. What does the company do to make them obey?"

"That has nothing to do with me." Solana replied outraged that he was implying she was doing it.

"What, because you don't ask?" Danni snapped. The woman glared at her.

"That's Dr Ryder's territory." She explained.

"Where is he? What part of the complex?" The Doctor reached into the front pocket of his overjacket and pulled out a map, unfolding it as he showed it to her, "I could help with the red-eye. Now show me!" They stared at each other for a moment before she reached out and pointed to a place on the map.

"There. Beyond the red section." She told him quietly.

"Come with me." Solana stared at him, shocked at his offer, "You've seen the warehouse, you can't agree with all this. You know this place better than me, you could help." She panted slightly as she deliberated over what to do.

"They're over here! Guards, they're over here!" She shouted. The Doctor grabbed Danni's hand again and they began running away as the guards ran towards them.

"Male and female suspects escaping. Westbridge corridor."

"Mr Halpen, I found the Doctor. He's heading for Ood Conversion." They heard her say to someone over her communication device as they turned a corner and headed past more warehouses. Two more guards came towards them and the Doctor skidded before switching direction, pulling Danni along with him.

"This way!" He shouted as he took them down a different route to the Ood Conversion suite. This warehouse wasn't as shiny and new as the others and the entrance was hidden behind a large gate and other buildings, as if they were trying to hide it. They ran up to the door to find it locked with a keypad. The Doctor looked up at the building.

"Oh, can you hear it?" The Doctor asked them as he pulled his screwdriver out and started to unlock the door, "I didn't need the map. I should've listened!" Donna looked at Danni, confused.

"What is he on about?" She asked as the door opened and the Doctor let them in. He turned and relocked it, the lock exploding with little sparks, "Does that mean we're locked in?" she started panicking slightly but the Doctor waved her off, reaching down into the jacket pocket and pulling out a small torch.

"Listen." He told her, "Listen, listen, listen, listen." He headed off without them, repeating the word under his breath.

"As a Time Lord he can hear things humans can't." Danni explained to her, "If anything's being transmitted over a psychic field then he can pick it up." They headed down a set of stairs and followed the path past empty cages, chains swinging ominously.

"Oh, my head." The Doctor hissed, pausing for a moment.

"What is it?" Donna asked him.

"Can't you hear it? The singing?" He shone his torch around the room and the beam of light landed on a group of Ood, huddled together in one cage. The Doctor headed towards them and, spotting a large switch on the wall, turned the lights on. All the Ood looked up in unison at them, startled. He turned his torch off and the Ood moved to huddle more closely together, hiding from the strangers, each holding something tightly in both hands.

"They look different to the others."

"That's because they're natural-born Ood. Unprocessed. Before they're adapted to slavery." Danni explained. They moved slowly towards the Ood, squatting down in front of the cage and holding onto the bars.

"That's their song." The Doctor said in realisation.

"I can't hear it." Donna told him quietly, feeling sickened by the sight in front of her.

"Do you want to?" He asked her. Donna turned to face the Doctor.

"Yeah." She nodded determinedly.

"It's the song of captivity." He warned.

"Let me hear it." She insisted.

"Face me." She did as he asked and he leant forward and placed his fingertips on her temples, closing his eyes, "Open your mind. That's it. Hear it, Donna... Hear the music." Donna gasped and turned to face the Ood as the song rushed through her mind. Danni watched as tears began running down her face.

"Do you..." The Doctor asked and she shook her head.

"No, please don't." Danni whispered and he breathed, slightly relieved. He hadn't wanted her to hear it, he didn't want her to feel as sad as he and Donna felt.

"Take it away." Donna sobbed and he turned to her.

"You sure?"

"I can't bear it." She told him, shaking her head. She turned back to face him and he took the song away, "I'm sorry." She whispered, ashamed.

"It's okay." He reassured her and the trio turned back to face the Ood.

"But you can still hear it." Donna pointed out.

"All the time." He reached across and pulled Danni up against him, holding her tightly. She looked up at him, slightly confused but he continued to stare at the Ood.

"Them poor Ood. This can't continue, can it?" She asked, "We'll stop it, won't we?" The Doctor nodded.

"Yes." He promised her. They stood up and the Doctor unlocked the cage with the screwdriver as there was a crash from the floor above them.

"They're breaking in." Donna exclaimed worriedly.

"Ah, let 'em." He entered the cage, followed by Danni and Donna. The Ood, terrified, shuffled away from them into one corner and he bent down to seem less threatening, "What are you holding?" He asked them gently and one Ood looked up at him shyly, "Friend." He promised it, "Doctor, Donna, Danni, friend. Look at me. Let me see." He coaxed it gently and it began shuffling closer to him, "That's it. That's it, go on. Go on." It held out it's hands and took the top one off, revealing a small brain connected by a tube to the rest of it's body.

"Is that-?" Donna asked, surprised.

"It's a brain. A hindbrain." Danni replied softly, "The Ood are born with a secondary brain."

"Like the amygdala in humans, it process memory and emotion. You get rid of that, you wouldn't be Donna anymore. You'd be like an Ood. A processed Ood." The Doctor continued.

"So the company... cuts off their brains." Donna whispered, horrified.

"And stitches on the translator." The Doctor snapped out.

"Like a lobotomy. I spent all that time looking for both of you, Doctor, because I thought it would be so wonderful out here." Tears were running down her face again, "I want to go home." The Doctor turned to look at her, stunned at her wish.

"They're with the Ood, sir." A voice called out and they turned to see a man in a suit approach them with a guard and a man in a white lab coat. The Doctor jumped up and slammed the door shut.

"What are you gonna do, then? Arrest me? Lock me up? Well, you're too late! Hah!" He crowed.

_~0~0~0~_

_Sorry about the short chapter, it's not one of my best if I'm honest and the next one's going to be quite short as well because this is only a short adventure. I wanted to show that she jumped anywhere, not just at the beginning of an adventure and leaving at the end. I know she still seems accepting of her situation, but there is a reason, I've just not given it yet :P_


	9. The Planet of the Ood

The guard pulled them out with relative ease and they were marched up to the Mr Haplen's office. They were handcuffed to a group of white poles at one end of the room holding the ceiling up. Donna cried out as her handcuff was snapped roughly around her wrist and she shot the guard doing it a hate-filled glare, causing him to back up slightly in shock.

"Why don't you just come out and say it?" Haplen began, perched on the edge of his desk, "_FOTO_ activists."

"Oh most definitely, you bald git!" Danni snapped back at the horrific man and he reached up and touched the back of his head self-consciously. She smirked at him and he pulled his hand, and a few bits of hair, down as he realised what he was doing.

"If that's what Friends of the Ood are trying to prove, then yes." The Doctor added, struggling slightly with the handcuffs.

"The Ood were nothing without us - just animals roaming around on the ice." Haplen defended.

"That's because you can't hear them."

"They welcomed it! It's not as if they put up a fight." He pointed out with a laugh.

"You idiot!" Donna shouted, "They're born with their brain in their hands, don't you see? That makes them peaceful! They've got to be because a creature like that would have to trust anyone it meets." Danni turned and smiled at her.

"Nice one." She complimented.

"Yeah." The Doctor agreed and Donna looked up at him.

"Thank you." She whispered and they turned back to glare at the man.

"The system's worked for 200 years." The man pushed himself off his desk, becoming impatient with them, "All we've got is a rogue batch." He walked up to them, "But the infection is about to be sterilised." He told them victoriously before lifting his wrist to his mouth and pressing a button on a watch-like device, "Mr Kess, how do we stand?" He asked into it.

"Canisters primed, sir. As soon as the core heats up, the gas is released. Give it 200 marks... and counting." A voice replied over it.

"You're going to gas them?!" The Doctor exclaimed and Halpen smiled at him.

"Kill the livestock." He replied, "The classic foot-and-mouth solution from the olden days. Still works."

"You can't!" Danni shouted, fighting against the cuffs, "They're just scared, you can't kill them!"

"Why not? It's not like their human." He told her with a smirk.

"No, they're not!" She retorted, "And if this is the way we treat them they are so much better than us!" Haplen rolled his eyes.

"Typical activist. Getting worked up over something with no feelings."

"That's because you remove them!" She snapped back, "You have to stop it!" He opened his mouth to reply when an alarm began ringing out. He looked upwards towards the ceiling.

"What the hell?" He exclaimed angrily before rushing out of the room, Dr Ryder and Ood Sigma following him as they headed outside to see the Ood complex in fire as Ood ran rabid.

"Emergency status! Emergency status!" A voice ran out over the alarm. He returned quickly, pacing slightly as he mind raced to come up with a new plan of action.

"Change of plan." He told the guards as Dr Ryder walked in and up to him.

"No reports of trouble off-world, sir. It's still contained to the Ood-Sphere." He explained.

"Then we've got a public duty to stop it before it spreads." He replied.

"What's happening?" The Doctor demanded. Haplen turned to him.

"Everything you wanted, Doctor." He told him, "No doubt there'll be a full police investigation once this place has been sterilised so I can't risk a bullet to the head." He snapped before taking a deep breath and smiling at them, "I'll leave you to the mercies of the Ood." He turned and began heading out, the guards following him.

"But, Mr Halpen, there's something else, isn't there?" He paused and turned to face him, "Something we haven't seen."

"What do you mean?" Donna asked him.

"The creature couldn't survive with a separate forebrain and hindbrain," Danni explained, "they'd be at war with themselves. There has to be a third element to help control them."

"She's right, isn't she?" The Doctor asked him and he nodded.

"Again, so clever."

"It's got to be connected to the red-eye. What is it?" Haplen stormed up to the Doctor and looked him dead in the eye.

"_It_ won't exist for very much longer. Enjoy your Ood." He told them before he, Dr Ryder and the two guards left them. As soon as they left the room Danni, the Doctor and Donna began struggling to free themselves out of the handcuffs.

"Come on!" The Doctor commanded, desperate to get them all out safe and safe the Ood from slaughter.

"Well, do something!" Donna exclaimed as they struggled, "You're the one with all the tricks! You must've met Houdini!"

"These are really good handcuffs!" He replied and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I'm glad of that. At least we've got _quality_!" Danni laughed at her sarcastic comment as they continued struggling. The door slid open and they all paused as three Ood entered, all with red-eye, and began advancing on them.

"Doctor, Donna, Danni friends!" The Doctor began chanting, trying to convince them they were safe.

"The circle must be broken!" Donna added, trying to show them they were on their side.

"Doctor, Donna, Danni friends!"

"The circle must be broken!" Danni joined in with Donna, not wanting to be murdered by an Ood. They continued pleading, repeating the same sentences over and over again, getting faster and faster as they advanced until they held their translator balls up to their faces, where they stopped.

"The circle must be..." Donna trailed off, panting as the translater balls turned themselves off and the Ood all held their heads in their free hands. The one closest to Donna looked back up, eyes back to normal. It's translator ball lit up.

"Doctor. Donna. Danni. Friends." It repeated.

"Yes, that's us! Friends! Oh, yes!" The Doctor cried out.

"That's me! That's him! That's us!" Donna cheered.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor managed to free them with a little help from the Ood and they rushed out of the room and down the stairs into the courtyard below. The snow seemed to be falling quicker than ever, as if it was trying to obscure the sight of the devastation the rabid Ood had created while they'd been locked up. The guards were still fighting and shouting commands as more and more Ood advanced on them. The Doctor led them into a secluded area and looked around, trying to find his bearings.

"I don't know where it is! I don't know where they've gone!"

"What are we looking for?!" Donna shouted as he began running again. Danni grabbed her hand and the pair followed him, making sure neither of them got left behind.

"Might be underground, like some sort of cave or a cavern or..."

"We need to find Ood Sigma," Danni interrupted, "He can help us!" He stopped and turned to her, looking confused and she grinned back, "Trust me, yeah?" She asked and he nodded.

"Ood Sigma?" She nodded.

"He'll be around here somewhere." She explained, "I think we just need to keep going forwards."

"Right, come on!" He took off again, the pair of red heads trailing behind him.

"Why does he always run so bloody fast?!" Donna panted and Danni laughed. They just made it past a group of canisters when a rogue bullet hit one and caused them all to explode, sending the trio to the ground. The smoke flooded the area and Danni could barely see the Doctor as he turned to Donna.

"All right?" Donna nodded and he turned the other way to Danni.

"What about you?"

"I'm fine, Spaceman." She replied as they turned over, about to get up. The smoke cleared and revealed Ood Sigma staring down at them.

"Told ya." Danni gloated.

_~0~0~0~_

Ood Sigma swiftly lead them to Warehouse 15, the home of the third element. The Doctor unlocked the door much like he had at Ood Conversion and the door slid open. The Doctor took the stairs just inside two at a time, Danni being slightly more careful as his coat billowed behind her. Last thing she wanted to do was trip and hold everything up. There was a huge hole in the middle of the room surrounded by a metal fence and the Doctor looked over it, impressed and surprised. There, in the middle, was a huge brain being kept within an energy field.

"The Ood brain." Danni told him as she and Donna leant over to look at it.

"Now it all makes sense. That's the missing link. The third element, binding them together. Forebrain, hindbrain and this. The telepathic centre. It's a shared mind... connecting all the Ood in song." He explained to Donna, who just stared at it in amazement. A gun was cocked behind them and they span to see Halpen hidden in some shadows, pointing the weapon at them. The Doctor stepped in front of Danni, half shielding her. She frowned in confusion at him, but he didn't move.

"Cargo." He stated, "I can always go into cargo. I've got the rockets, I've got the sheds. Smaller business. Much more manageable without livestock." He stepped out and walked towards them, his aim never wavering. Dr Ryder followed him and motioned to the brain.

"He's mined the area." He told them.

"They're gonna kill it." Donna whispered in confusion, looking back down at it.

"They found that _thing_ centuries ago beneath the northern glacier." Haplen spat out in disgust.

"Those pylons." The Doctor murmured to Donna.

"In a circle." Danni added.

"'The circle must be broken.'" Donna repeated in realisation.

"Dampening the telepathic field, stopping the Ood from connecting for 200 years."

"And you, Ood Sigma, you brought them here. I expected better." Haplen said to his servant, whose translator ball lit up.

"My place is at your side, sir." It replied as it moved over to his master. Haplen chuckled darkly.

"Still subservient. Good Oo-" He trailed off, unable to finish his sentence, as if something was stuck in his throat. Danni smirked at him and then blinked in surprise as she was sure that Ood Sigma had tried to smile knowingly at her. He knew she knew. She laughed slightly. She really did like Ood.

"If that barrier thing's in place, how come the Ood started breaking out?" Donna asked, still confused.

"Maybe it's taken centuries to adapt. The subconscious reaching out." The Doctor theorised.

"But the process was too slow, had to be accelerated." Dr Ryder said before turning to Haplen, "You should never have given me access to the controls, Mr Halpen. I lowered the barrier to its minimum. Friends of the Ood, sir. It's taken me ten years to infiltrate the company. And I succeeded."

"Yes. Yes, you did." Danni pushed past the Doctor and jumped into Haplen, sending them both to the floor just as he reached out to push Ryder into the Ood brain.

"Oh no you don't!" She shouted as she scrambled up and grabbed Ryder by the arm, "Over here!" She pulled him back to the Doctor and Donna. Ryder blinked at her, stunned that he was about to be killed.

"You were going to murder him." Donna exclaimed as Haplen scrambled up and pointed the gun at them again. The Doctor pushed Danni back behind him, but with a frown on his face she didn't quite understand. She frowned, what had she done?

"Very observant, Ginger." Donna glared at him, completely affronted, "Now then, can't say I've ever shot anyone before... can't say I'm gonna like it, but, uh, it's not exactly a normal day, is it? Still..."

"Would you like a drink, sir?" Ood Sigma asked. Haplen laughed.

"I think hair loss is the least of my problems right now, thanks." Ood Sigma stepped in front of the Doctor, Donna, Danni and Dr Ryder and held a shot glass of liquid out to him.

"Please have a drink, sir." The Doctor placed a hand on Ood Sigma's shoulder, ready to move him if necessary.

"If- if you're gonna stand in their way, I'll shoot you too." Haplen spoke slowly, struggling to get the words out.

"Please have a drink, sir." Ood Sigma insisted. Haplen looked down at the drink then up at Ood Sigma in panic.

"Have-have you... poisoned me?" He stuttered out, still finding it difficult to speak.

"Natural Ood must never kill, sir." Ood Sigma replied.

"What is that stuff?" The Doctor asked.

"Ood-graft suspended in a biological compound, sir." Ood Sigma told him, not turning around. Haplen held a hand up to his forehead, obviously feeling unwell.

"What the hell does that mean?" He exclaimed.

"Oh dear." The Doctor said without answering.

"Tell me!" Haplen demanded.

"Funny thing, the subconscious. Takes all sorts of shapes. It came out in the red-eye as revenge. It came out in the rabid Ood as anger." He explained.

"And then there was patience." Danni continued, "All that intelligence and mercy focused on Ood Sigma." Danni continued, smiling proudly.

"How's the hair loss, Mr Halpen?" The Doctor asked him happily. Haplen, now shaking, reached up and pulled a large clump of hair out of his head. He pointed the gun at Ood Sigma.

"What have you done?" He sobbed out.

"Oh, they've been preparing you for a very long time. And now you're standing next to the Ood brain. Mr Halpen, can you hear it? Listen." He whispered and Haplen looked down at the brain in fright, the song of the Ood filling his mind.

"What have you-I'm... not-" He coughed, his tongue pushing it's way to the front of his mouth. Ood Sigma stepped out of the way and towards him as he dropped his gun and cried in agony. He gripped the top of his head and pulled downwards, tearing his skin away and revealing the new Ood head underneath. With a last cough tentacles came out of his mouth, indicating the end of his transformation. Danni paled as she felt bile rise to her throat. It really wasn't a nice process.

"They-they turned him into an Ood?" Donna asked, stunned.

"Yup." Danni murmured, reflecting just how ill she felt.

"He's an Ood." Donna stated.

"I noticed." The Doctor replied as they started at him. The new Ood Haplen coughed up his secondary brain and caught it in his hand.

"He has become Ood-kind and we will take care of him." Ood Sigma told them. Donna held her head, a massive headache growing.

"It's weird, being with you. I can't tell what's right and what's wrong anymore." She told the Doctor.

"It's better that way. People who know for certain tend to be like Mr Halpen." He replied. A beeping sound began to come from the hole and the Doctor jumped, "Oh!" He reached over the fence and turned off one of the detonation packs, destroying the circuit and turning the huge bomb off, "That's better. And now..." He ran over to the the controls before turning to Ood Sigma, "Ood Sigma, will you allow me the honour?" He asked.

"It is yours, Doctor." Ood Sigma replied with a small bow of his head.

"Oh yes!" The Doctor cheered, grinning from ear to ear, as he typed on the controls, "Stifled for over 200 years but not anymore. The circle is broken. The Ood can sing!" He flips a lever and the field around the brain was shut off. The Ood song filled the minds of everyone on the Ood Sphere, causing the guards outside to place their guns down and the fighting to stop. The Doctor laughed joyfully as Donna looked upwards.

"I can hear it!" Ood Sigma raised his arms in rejoice, connecting to the rest of his kind. The Doctor looked at Danni, whose eyes were closed as she just listened to the song running through her head. He pulled her up against him, her back pressed against his front as he wrapped his arms around her and he rested his chin on the top of her head. She tilted her head slightly and smiled at him, surprised at how comfortable she felt when he hugged her. He grinned back and they stood there and listened.

_~0~0~0~_

Ood Sigma and three of his brothers joined the Doctor, Donna and Danni as they stood in the snow outside the TARDIS, ready to leave the Ood Sphere in peace.

"The message has gone out. That song resonated across the galaxies. Everyone heard it. Everyone knows. The rockets are bringing them back. The Ood are coming home." The Doctor told him.

"We thank you," Ood Sigma told them, "Doctor-Donna, Danni friends of Ood-kind. And what of you now? Will you stay? There is room in the song for you." He asked them. The Doctor motioned to the TARDIS with his head.

"Oh-I've-I've sorta got a song of my own, thanks." He replied, not really like staying still.

"I think your song must end soon." Ood Sigma told him and he frowned.

"Meaning?" He asked.

"Every song must end." Danni said along with Ood Sigma, who shifted slightly so he was looking at her.

"And your song, Danni, friend of the Doctor-Donna. It is just starting." She nodded.

"You know me well." She replied, "But not as well as the Doctor." The Doctor ran his hand through his hair, trying to conceal his embarrassment.

"Yeah..." He turned to Donna, "Um, what about you? Do you still want to go home?" He whispered.

"No. Definitely not." She told him and they both smiled. The Doctor turned back to the Ood.

"Then we'll be off." He told them.

"Take this song with you." Ood Sigma replied.

"We will." Donna said.

"Always." The Doctor agreed and the Ood all raised their hands as a song filled their minds.

"And know this, Doctor-Donna and Danni you will never be forgotten. Our children will sing of the Doctor-Donna, and our children's children, and the wind and the ice and the snow will carry your names forever." Danni bowed at Ood Sigma.

"Thank you Ood Sigma, for everything." Ood Sigma bowed back as they all headed back into the TARDIS and it dematerialised, leaving the Ood to sing in freedom.

_~0~0~0~_

Danni watched the Doctor fly the TARDIS, her legs swinging in the air as she sat on the pilot seat, the Doctor's coat draped behind her. Donna had gone for a shower and then to sleep, the emotional day exhausting her.

"Why were you mad with me before?" She asked him and he paused before leaning on the console and crossed his arms.

"Did you save Dr Ryder before because you knew he was going to die?" She nodded.

"Yeah, why?"

"You can't change the future like that." He told her and she frowned.

"What, I was just supposed to let him die? He was trying to save the Ood!" She exclaimed.

"One wrong life saved in the wrong place and you could tear the universe apart with a paradox so huge nothing could save it." He replied.

"By and large the universe sorts paradoxes out itself!" She defended, "I'm not stupid, I know that if I try and change fixed points and things I'll crash out the universe, but you can't tell me that me saving his has had a bad effect on the universe!"

"You don't know which points in time are fixed and which are in flux. You told me..." She stood up, her hands on her hips.

"Well I haven't told you anything yet!" She snapped, "This is my third time seeing you. Number 3! I saved him because I could, and you can't stop me doing it again! I won't change anything big, but you can't expect me to jump around time and space and not try and save someone. Not everyone has to die every time!" He stared her down and then smiled, letting his arms fall to his side.

"Oh, Danni-Girl. You're right, like always." He told her and she grinned.

"Glad you realise this, Spaceman. I've got a lot of jumping to do, it's nice to know you're ready to concede that fact." He laughed and pushed himself up.

"No changing big things," He warned her, "But I'll give you some of the small things. Sometimes, not everyone has to die." She hugged him tightly before pulling away at the burning sensation in her arm.

"Oh no, that means I'm going, doesn't it?" He nodded.

"Have fun!" She nodded.

"Always!" She flashed out of existence then reappeared just as the Doctor, still Ten, entered the TARDIS on his own.

"Well, I can see this is always going to be an issue." She told him as he smiled at her, "Where am I?"

"I've just dropped Martha off." He told her as he headed towards the console, setting them into flight, "We had fun, but I did say only one trip." She sighed as he looked distracted, staring at the column in the middle but not really looking at anything.

"Ah, so we're going back aren't we?" She replied and he turned to look at her, confused. She rolled her eyes, "The guy on the news. 'Change what it means to be human'? I remember this, you can't resist." She teased him.

"It was nothing, people say stuff like that all the time. It's just to hype up some product he's created." The Doctor waved off and she approached him, a knowing smirk on her face.

"But you know it isn't, don't you? You know it's something more than that, that's why we're just hovering here, isn't it?" He looked down at her then nodded, sighing in defeat. She grinned.

"Do you always give in to me so easily?" She asked and he laughed.

"Yes. It's becoming a bit of an issue." He told her and they landed back in Martha's front room. The pair rushed to the door and he threw it open, peeking their heads out to see Martha stare at them, bewildered.

"No, I'm sorry. Did he say he was going to change what it means to be human?"

_~0~0~0~_

_I have had some incredibly wonderful reviews for the previous chapter, and I've been telling everyone I can about them because they really do make my day, so thank you so much :) I am trying to update every few days, but as this is the last episode I have pre-written that may change to weekly just to give me a chance to catch up because it does take me a few days as I like to watch the episodes as I'm writing so I can get as much detail as possible in every scene for you lovely people :)_


	10. The Lazarus Experiment

"So," Martha placed her phone down after ringing her mother, "Tish has already put me on the guest list, but with only a plus one." The Doctor and Danni were sat on the sofa, the Doctor flipping through the news channels looking for more information on the device while Danni had been waiting patiently for Martha to finish talking to her mum.

"That's alright. The Doctor will stay behind, won't you?" Danni asked him and he looked indignant.

"No I will not. You can be my plus one." He replied and she laughed then jumped up.

"I don't think..." Martha began, unsure the plan would work.

"It'll be fine." Danni reassured her, "You just have to have the massive overconfidence that it'll work, and people will just go with it. You say he's your plus one, he says that I'm his plus one and people will just accept it. Trust me." She took Martha's hand, "Now, back into the TARDIS, we need to get changed."

"Why?" Martha asked.

"It's black tie, isn't it?" She asked in reply then turned to the Doctor, "That means you as well." The Doctor pouted.

"Do I have to?" He whined and she nodded.

"Yes, you do." She told him and he sighed.

"I do give into you far too much." He grumbled.

"As it should be, Spaceman." She replied before pulling Martha into the TARDIS and down to the wardrobe, where lines upon lines of dresses and other clothes stretched out in front of them.

"It's huge!" Martha exclaimed and Danni nodded.

"I know. It's wonderful, but it can be difficult to find something to wear." She looked up at the ceiling, "Unless you have a fantastic blue box to help."

_~0~0~0~_

Martha chose a purple v-neck dress that was pulled in at the waist with a purple ribbon, just reaching her knees. She wore her hair down, pulled out of her face by a black hairband covered in false gemstones, contrasting the silver necklace around her neck. She stepped out of the TARDIS to see the Doctor stood in a black tuxedo, looking uncomfortable as he pulled at the black bowtie around his neck.

"Will I do?" She asked, spinning to show him the outfit.

"Very nice." He told her and she frowned slightly at his lack of enthusiasm, still tugging the tie. She stepped forward and batted his hand away, re-tying it.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." She murmured.

"You look fine, I told you." Danni told her as she stepped out wearing a strapless blue dress, reaching just past her knees with a chopped multilayered effect skirt, a blue bow on the side. She also wore her hair down with a small blue bow pulling the front strands to the back. She was slightly unsteady on dark-blue heeled shoes. The Doctor blinked at her, never seeing her dressed up before. His mind drifted to the first time he had met her, before shaking his head slightly to get rid of the thoughts. He definitely knew that hadn't happened for her yet.

"Doctor?" Danni asked, pulling him back to the present.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Is it alright? I've never been to anything posh before." He nodded, a small smile on his face.

"You look fine. You really suit blue." She grinned and linked arms with Martha.

"I've been sucked into a universe I thought didn't exist." She told her new friend as they began walking down the street towards Lazarus Laboratories, "Torn from everyone I knew and loved into the life of a time-travelling alien man. What's the best way to cheer yourself up? Go to a posh do and make fun of rich folk!" Martha laughed.

"And eat all of the food." She pointed out and Danni nodded.

"I knew there was something I liked about you." Danni stated before turning to the Doctor, who was fiddling with the cuffs of the white shirt he was wearing.

"Leave them alone." She scolded lightly.

"Oh, black tie. Whenever I wear this, something bad always happens." He grumbled.

"It's not the outfit, that's just you. Anyway, I think it suits you. In a James Bond kind of way." Martha told him, nudging Danni who bit back a grin.

"James Bond?" He exclaimed disdainfully. Danni nodded.

"Oh yes. I've always loved bow ties, you know?" He frowned before reaching up and adjusting it.

"Really?" He asked, obviously reconsidering the tie. She nodded.

"There's something very... attractive about them." Martha chuckled as the Doctor seemed to decide he liked the suit after all. He was still missing Rose terribly, she could tell, but sometimes he'd really try and impress Danni without realising it. Their photographs were taken by the members of the press waiting outside as the trio headed up the impressive staircase covered in a red carpet and into the main reception room. There was a huge white device displayed proudly in the middle of a room consisting of a large capsule with a frosted glass door and four glass pillars displaying the inner workings of the machine. Guests were gathered around it, discussing what the machine could possibly be for. Waiting staff were making their way through the crowd, offering hors d'oeuvres and champagne to the guests. The Doctor took a handful of food off one of the staff.

"Oh, look, they've got nibbles! I love nibbles!" He exclaimed as he placed a whole piece in his mouth.

"Wonderful manners there, Doctor." Danni teased him as Martha's sister, Tish, approached them looking very smart in a long straight black dress and carrying a clip board.

"Hello." She greeted Martha excitedly, grabbing her sisters arm to get her attention.

"Tish." She breathed, having not seen her sister in what felt like ages. The two hugged and Tish pulled back, looking her up and down.

"You look great." She complimented, "So, what do you think? Impressive, isn't it?"

"Very." Martha replied, nodding as she looked around.

"And two nights out in a row for you—that's dangerously close to a social life." She teased and Martha rolled her eyes.

"If I keep this up, I'll end up in all the gossip columns."

"You might, actually. Keep an eye out for photographers." Tish warned, "And Mum- she's coming too, even dragging Leo along with her."

"Leo in black tie?" Martha asked in disbelief, "That I must see." Tish looked up at the Doctor, who was stood with Danni munching on his nibbles.

"This is, uh, the Doctor, and Danni." She introduced. The Doctor moved all of the food into one hand and took Tish's in the other, shaking it enthusiastically.

"Hello." She plastered a smile on her face then turned to Martha.

"Are they with you?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"But they're not on the list. How did they get in?" Tish asked.

"He's my plus one." Martha explained.

"And I'm his." Danni added.

"So, this Lazarus bloke," The Doctor interjected before she could question it, "he's your boss?"

"_Professor_ Lazarus, yes." She corrected, "I'm part of his executive staff."

"She's in the PR department." Martha told him with a roll of her eyes.

"Actually, she's head of the PR department, aren't you?" Danni asked as she reached out for a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. Tish nodded, a smile on her face.

"Yes, I am. How did you know?"

"That clipboard. Makes you look very smart and official." Danni explained and Tish beamed at her. Everyone thought Martha was the smart one, but she could do just as well as the trainee doctor.

"You're joking." Martha exclaimed, her mum hadn't told her that.

"I put this whole thing together." Tish stated proudly.

"So do you know what the professor's going to be doing tonight? That looks like it might be a sonic microfield manipulator." The Doctor nodded his head towards the device in the middle. Tish's smile dropped.

"He's a science geek." She stated, "I should've known. Gotta get back to work now. I'll catch up with you later." She patted her sister on the arm again and left to mingle with the rest of the guests. The Doctor frowned after her, munching on another bit of food.

"Science geek? What does that mean?"

"That your obsessively enthusiastic about it."

"I do like a man who uses his mind." Danni said to no one in particular, taking a sip out of her glass as she looked around as if she wasn't paying attention. The Doctor grinned despite himself and adjusted his bowtie just like his Eleventh self would do, making her smile.

"Oh, nice."

"Martha." Someone called and they turned to see Martha's mum enter with Martha's brother on her arm. Martha stared at her before rushing over and hugging her tightly.

"Mum!" She cried. Her mum laughed slightly in shock, pulling back but keeping a hand loosely in her daughter's hair.

"Oh. All right, what's the occasion?" She asked.

"What do you mean? I'm just pleased to see you, that's all." Martha told her with a bit of a stutter, realising it might seem odd that she had reacted like she hadn't seen her in years.

"You saw me last night." Her mum pressed, a smile on her face.

"I know. I just…missed you. You're looking good, Leo." She turned to her brother, trying to to deflect the conversation off her.

"Yeah. If anyone asks me to fetch 'em a drink, I'll swing for him." Her mother looked over at the Doctor and Danni who were stood together just a bit behind Martha.

"You disappeared last night." She stated pointedly.

"I..." Martha paused, "just went home." She settled on.

"On your own?" Martha's gaze followed her mother's and she realised what she was implying so she motioned to the pair.

"This is a friend of mine, the Doctor, and his plus one Danni." She told her mum pointedly.

"Doctor what?" She asked the Doctor.

"No, it's just the Doctor. We've been doing some work together." Martha answered for him. Leo leant forward and shook his hand, showing him he wasn't suspicious like his mother.

"Alright?" The Doctor nodded, grateful of the greeting. He moved to Danni and she kissed him on the cheek.

"Lovely to meet you Leo." She told him. The Doctor leant forward and shook her mother's hand.

"Lovely to meet you, Mrs Jones. Heard a lot about you." He told her. She looked up at him, obviously not liking him.

"Have you? What have you heard, then?"

"Oh, you know, that you're Martha's mother and…um… No, actually, that's…that's about it. We haven't had much time to chat, you know, been busy." He settled on. Danni rolled her eyes; way to make the suspicious mother more calm.

"Busy? Doing what, exactly?" She asked. He froze for a moment, not knowing what to say to that.

"Oh…you know…stuff." Danni rolled her eyes and stepped forward, pushing him away slightly with one hand.

"Please ignore him, Mrs Jones. Like all men, he can be a bit of an idiot. Martha has told us all about you, I'd like to say all nice things but you know what daughter's are like." Danni said smoothly, the Doctor looking at her indignantly, "I'm sure I've said stuff about my mother I didn't really mean." Mrs Jones looked at her, smiling slightly now she wasn't paying attention to the Doctor.

"I'm sure anything she said to you she wouldn't want to be repeated to me. Danni, was it?" Danni nodded, about to tell Mrs Jones her full name when there was a tapping on a glass. The Doctor sighed in relief as they all turned to see an elderly gentleman stood at the front of the machine.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Professor Richard Lazarus and tonight I'm going to perform a miracle." He stated. The Doctor leant down to Danni.

"An idiot?" He asked her quietly and she nodded, not taking her eyes of the professor.

"Her husband's just left her for a trophy girlfriend." She explained in a whisper, "She's not a big fan of men at the moment, that's why she's so suspicious of you. Seemed the best way to get her attention off of you."

"It is, I believe," The professor continued, "The most important advance since Rutherford split the atom, the biggest leap since Armstrong stood on the moon. Tonight, you will watch and wonder. Tomorrow, you'll awake to a world which will be changed forever." Camera's flashed around them as he turned and entered the chamber. Two female technicians began to flick switches and turn on the machine. It began whirring at high speed and the base began spinning, the four pillars then spinning independently. It lit up with a blue light as energy began to pour into the chamber, causing people to gasp and cover their eyes. Suddenly a warning alarm began sounding.

"Something's wrong. It's overloading." The technicians fought to stop it but, seeing their struggle, the Doctor ran over and jumped over a low desk. He pulled out his screwdriver and aimed it at the controls, turning a few knobs to try and calm the system down.

"Somebody stop him! Get him away from those controls!" An old woman cried and Danni turned to glare at her.

"If this thing goes off, it'll take the whole building with it. Is that what you want?" She snapped. The Doctor pressed a load of buttons before jumping back over and pulling out a thick silver wire from the back of the main control connected to the capsule. The pillars slowly stopped spinning and Martha ran up to the door, trying to yank it over before the Doctor could instruct anyone to do so. She opened it, revealing a lot of smoke and a figure propping itself up against the sides of the container. A man, much younger than the elderly Professor Lazarus, stepped forward looking dazed. The crowd stepped forward, cameras flashing madly as the Doctor, Danni and Martha stared on stunned and slightly horrified. The man reached up and touched his face, amazed at the soft, firm skin underneath his fingertips. A smile grew on his face and he stepped out, his arms out by his side.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Richard Lazarus. I am 76 years old and I am reborn!" He chucked his arms up into the air as the crowd clapped and cheered.

"He did it. He actually did it." The elderly lady said in awe as the trio looked on.

_~0~0~0~_

As the crowd took the opportunity to have their photographs taken with the new and improved Professor Lazarus, the Doctor studied the machine closely. Martha watched them fawn over him and Danni just stared, unnerved.

"It can't be the same guy." Martha stated incredulously, "It's impossible. It must be a trick."

"It's not." Danni told her lowly. Even she could tell this wasn't natural, and she had a feeling she would feel this way even if she hadn't seen it before. There was something just... wrong with the man who paraded himself around like a miracle.

"I wish it were." The Doctor concurred.

"What just happened, then?" Martha asked, looking up at the Doctor who didn't take his gaze off the man.

"He just changed what it means to be human." He told her. They watched as the elderly lady from before exchanged some words with him, seemingly unaware with how Professor Lazarus tensed while talking to her, as if he was disgusted with her very presence. He twitched, wincing and cracking his neck as if he was in pain and the Doctor stepped from behind the pillar he was looking at and walked over as Professor Lazarus helped himself to a whole tray of hor d'oeuvres, shovelling them into his mouth.

"Richard!" The elderly lady admonished.

"I'm famished." Professor Lazarus replied vaguely, not even looking at her.

"Energy deficit." the Doctor stated, pulling his attention away from the tray, "Always happens with this kind of process." The Doctor told him.

"You speak as if you see this every day, Mr-" He trailed off, not knowing the man he was talking to.

"Doctor. And, well, no, not every day, but I have some experience in this kind of transformation."

"Nine experiences, to be precise." Danni piped up. After all, the man pretty much regenerated in that capsule.

"That's not possible." Lazarus told them with a slightly derogatory laugh in his voice.

"Using hypersonic sound waves to create a state of resonance." The Doctor rattled off, knowing exactly what the machine did, "That's- that's inspired."

"You understand the theory, then." Lazarus conceded.

"Enough to know that you couldn't possibly have allowed for all the variables."

"No experiment is entirely without risk." The Professor continued to eat, still very hungry.

"That thing nearly exploded. You might as well have stepped into a blender."

"You're not qualified to comment." The elderly lady snapped and the Doctor turned to her.

"If I hadn't stopped it, it would have exploded." The Doctor pointed out.

"Then I thank you, Doctor. But that's a simple engineering issue. What happened inside the capsule was exactly what was supposed to happen. No more, no less."

"You've no way of knowing that until you've run proper tests." Martha told him and he laughed.

"Look at me! You can see what happened. I'm all the proof you need."

"This device will be properly certified before we start to operate commercially." The woman reassured them, a happy glint in her eye.

"Commercially?! You are joking." Martha exclaimed.

"That'll cause chaos." Danni added.

"Not chaos. Change. A chance for humanity to evolve, to improve." Lazarus explained, his eyes glazing over as he seemed to drift out of the conversation.

"This isn't about improving. It's about you and your customers living a little longer." Danni replied and he smiled at her.

"Not a little longer, my dear. A lot longer. Perhaps indefinitely." He looked her up and down and she stepped slightly closer to the Doctor, his gaze making her feel really uncomfortable.

"Richard," The lady snapped, not liking his wandering eyes, "We have things to discuss. _Upstairs_." She walked off before he could argue and he rolled his eyes before following her.

"Goodbye, Doctor. In a few years, you'll look back and laugh at how wrong you were." He held his hand out to Martha, who took it but instead of shaking it he lifted it up to his lips and placed a kiss on her knuckles. He then did the same to Danni before leaving.

"Ooh, he's out of his depth. No idea of the damage he might have done." The Doctor stated as he watched the professor leave the reception room.

"So what do we do now?" Danni asked, just happy she was away from that creepy man.

"Now…" The Doctor breathed before looking around, "Well, this building must be full of laboratories. I say we do our own tests."

"Lucky I've just collected a DNA sample then, isn't it?" Martha held up her hand, wiggling her fingers with a smug grin on her face. The moment he had lifted her hand to his lips, she had realised what she had been getting. Just like the Doctor had done the first time he had met her; given her a DNA imprint. Danni giggled and held up her own.

"Me too." She exclaimed happily. This was the good thing about being sucked into a parallel universe you've always watched on television; you get to be part of the action. The Doctor looked between the two hands

"Oh, Martha Jones, Danielle Fielding, you're a pair of stars." He let out, impressed at the two girls. He grabbed Danni by the arm and led the pair out of the room.

"That's Danni-Girl to you, Spaceman." Danni corrected.

_~0~0~0~_

_Thanks for all your kind words again, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well :) After this episode's finished, I'm trying my hand at my first semi-original minisode/adventure thing, based an a trip only briefly mentioned in the show. It'll only be one chapter, but then we'll be back to the episodes so I hope you'll all bear with me :) As always, tell me what you think._


	11. The Monster is Loose

Considering the high profile event taking place downstairs, it had been very easy for the trio to find an empty, unguarded lab and they helped themselves to the equipment. Well, not 'they', rather the Doctor who put on his 'I'm being clever' glasses and got to work, bringing up the results on a computer screen.

"Amazing." He breathed as he analysed the results.

"What?" Martha asked, not being able to see anything untoward on the screen.

"Lazarus's DNA."

"I can't see anything different." She told him.

"Look at it!" He told her and they watched as the DNA image on the screen flicked before changing completely.

"Oh, my God! Did that just change? But it can't have!"

"But it did." Danni breathed.

"It's impossible."

"Says the girl travelling in a time machine." Danni pointed out. Martha nodded in agreement.

"And that's two impossible things we've seen tonight. Don't you love it when that happens?" He asked Danni, a grin on his face. She nodded.

"I'm one big walking impossible thing, Spaceman. So that's three." He thought about it for a moment and his grin grew slightly wider.

"That means Lazarus has changed his own molecular patterns." Martha stated, staring to see if the DNA changed again, which it did.

"Hypersonic sound waves to destabilise the cell structure then a mutagenic program to manipulate the coding in the protein strands."

"Want to slow it down for us non-Time Lords?" Danni asked.

"Basically," He turned to look at Martha, "He hacked into his own genes and instructed them to rejuvenate."

"But they're still mutating now." She pointed out.

"'Cause he missed something. Something in his DNA has been activated and won't let him stabilise. Something that's trying to change him."

"Change him into what?"

"I dunno but I think we need to find out."

"That woman said they were going upstairs." Danni told him.

"Let's go!" He exclaimed, slamming his hands on the desk before turning and running out. Danni and Martha followed a fraction of a second later, Danni rolling her eyes.

"You know," She panted to Martha, "I hate running. It was my worst thing in school. And now look, running after a madman in a blue box. I must be bloody crazy." Martha laughed, panting lightly herself.

"We both are." She reassured her friend as the found the Doctor waiting impatiently by a lift door, tapping his foot as he watched the numbers climb down.

"Come on." He hissed and it dinged, the doors opening slowly. He stepped in, dragging Danni with him and pressed the button for the top floor, the doors closing and the assent going very slowly. Before the doors could fully open Martha stepped out and the Doctor followed, still holding onto Danni, although he didn't seem to notice. The room was dark, a model of an old cathedral that Danni couldn't remember the name of sat on a glass table. The Doctor located a light switch and flipped it on, illuminating the contrasting furniture, the glass and chrome being outshone by the antique wooden desk by the huge windows.

"This is his office, all right." Martha said, taking in the room.

"So, where is he?" The Doctor asked, looking around.

"Dunno. Let's try back at the re…" Martha trailed off as she looked over at the desk, "ception." The Doctor and Danni followed her gaze and saw two skeletal legs wearing black high heels sticking out from behind the desk. The Doctor let go of Danni and he and Martha rushed over, crouching beside the remains as Danni walked over slowly, eyes wide at the sight.

"Is that Lady Thaw?" Martha asked, horrified.

"Used to be. Now it's just a shell. Had all the life energy drained out. Like squeezing the juice out of an orange."

"Lazarus." Martha breathed in realisation and the Doctor nodded.

"Could be."

"So he's changed already."

"Not necessarily." The Doctor told her, "You saw the DNA. It was fluctuating. The process must demand energy. This might not have been enough."

"Oh god." They looked up at Danni, who had gone pale and looked like she was about to break down into tears as she looked past them at the elderly lady. The Doctor shot up and walked towards her slowly, taking her hands gently.

"Hey, it's alright." He told her calmly, "He's not here. You're safe." She shook her head, the minute movement almost not registering with either of them.

"I... The last time I saw this it didn't bother me." She told him, her shaking increasing, "I just thought, 'oh, they'll stop him, it doesn't matter'. But look at her! He killed her!" Her voice broke as she started crying, "She's a real person, and I didn't care! Oh god, I'm a monster!" She held her head in her hands as she sobbed, squeezing her eyes shut as she didn't want to look at the woman any longer. On television she had just been a lady who had been in Dinnerladies, and the corpse just a prop. But here, she had been someone. A real person who had lived and probably had a family, and now she was dead. The Doctor stared at her in shock before pulling her in for a hug, looking over her shoulder at Martha who looked just as bewildered.

"You are not a monster." He told her gently as she clung to him, shaking her head, "No, listen to me." He tilted her head up, "You're not a monster, you care now, don't you?" She nodded, biting her lip and he smiled gently, "Then that's all that matters, isn't it? When it actually happened, you cared. We can't help her, but we can stop him before he does it again, can't we?" She nodded again, sniffing slightly. He reached up and held her face in his hands, wiping the tear tracks away with his thumbs, "And that's the Danni-Girl I've always known. The girl who always cared, okay?" She blushed slightly and laughed with another nod and he grinned at her.

"Hold on, so he might do this again?" Martha stated, registering what the Doctor had said to Danni. He blinked and let go of her, the trio rushing to the lifts and he began hammering the button, the moment between the pair gone.

_~0~0~0~_

The lift pinged and they ran out into the calm atmosphere of the party downstairs, no trouble and no screaming, the string quartet still playing, signalling that if he was down here he hadn't killed anyone else.

"I can't see him." Martha said, straining to look over the crowd.

"He can't be far. Keep looking." The Doctor told her, walking off into the guests looking for the man of the hour. Danni stuck by Martha as she was stopped by Leo, who was holding a glass of champagne.

"Hey, you all right, Marth? I think Mum wants to talk to you." He taunted lightly but she didn't notice, still looking around.

"Have you see Lazarus anywhere?" Danni asked him,

"Yeah. He was getting' cosy with Tish a couple of minutes ago." Martha stared at him, mouth open as the Doctor joined them, followed by Martha's mother.

"With Tish?!" Martha asked, looking at the Doctor pointedly.

"Ah, Doctor." Her mother drawled but he ignored her, turning to Leo.

"Where did they go?" He demanded.

"Upstairs I think, why?" The Doctor pushed past Mrs Jones, spilling her champagne all down her arm. Martha quickly followed but Danni paused.

"Doctor- I'm speaking to you!" She shouted after them.

"Not now, Mum!" Martha called over her shoulder and Danni rolled her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs Jones. He can just be so rude sometimes. Here," She ripped Leo's glass out of his hand and handed it to her, much to his protests, "Have Leo's, I'm sure he's had enough anyway."

"Who is he?" She demanded and Danni opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, not sure how to answer the question.

"Danni!" The Doctor shouted impatiently and Danni sighed in relief.

"Sorry, I've got to go. I told you he was rude." She shot her a relaxed salute then ran off after them, diving into the lift as the doors began to shut.

"She's not going to like you any more after that." She pointed out to him.

"Yeah, killer human mutation on the loose, don't really have time to worry about mothers." He retorted as they zoomed up.

"Two words for you. Jackie. Tyler." He winced, absentmindedly reaching up to his cheek where the blonde mother had slapped his 9th self.

"Okay, will worry about her later."

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor almost forced the lift doors open as the three of them burst into the office, but a quick glance around told them neither Tish nor Lazarus were there.

"Where are they?" Martha exclaimed. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver

"Fluctuating DNA will give off an energy signature. I might be able to pick it up." He explained as he began slowly turning on the spot as he scanned the area, stopping as it began beeping wildly to signal it had found something.

"Got him." He told them as he followed the signal upwards.

"Where?" Danni asked as he pointed the screwdriver at the ceiling.

"But this is the top floor!" Martha stated, confused.

"The roof!" Danni replied and they ran for the stairs at the end of the room, running up them towards the pair who were stood looking out over London.

"Still can't take it in." Tish told him as she tentatively stroked his cheek.

"I'm still adjusting myself." Lazarus admitted, "I've been working toward it for two many years, it's hard to believe the moment's finally arrived."

"And is it like you expected?" He regarded her for a moment, not expecting the question.

"I find that nothing's ever exactly like you expect. There's always something to surprise you. 'Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act-'"

"'Falls the shadow.'" The Doctor finished for him, alerting the pair to their presence. They turned, Lazarus looking at them with a smirk while Tish just seemed confused.

"So the mysterious Doctor knows his Eliot. I'm impressed." He said.

"Martha, what are you doing here?" Tish asked.

"Tish, get away from him." Martha told her firmly, motioning to her side.

"What? Don't tell me what to do."

"I wouldn't have thought you had time for poetry, Lazarus, what with you being busy defying the laws of nature and all." The Doctor commented, not taking his eyes off the man.

"You're right, Doctor. One lifetime's been too short for me to do everything I'd like. How much more would I get done in two or three or four?"

"Doesn't work like that. Some people live more in 20 years than others do in 80. It's not the time that mattes; it's the person." Danni told him and he smirked at her. She bit her lip, a flash of Lady Haw's corpse running through her head and she stepped instinctively towards the Doctor.

"But if it's the right person, what a gift that would be."

"Or what a curse. Look at what you've done to yourself." The man took in a sharp breath through his nose.

"Who are you to judge me?" He demanded.

"Over here, Tish." Martha tried again and Tish stormed over to her.

"You have to spoil everything, don't you? Every time I find someone nice, you have to go and find fault." She snapped as the other three watched Lazarus fall to the floor, twitching and contorting as he transformed.

"Tish, he's a monster!"

"I know the age thing's a bit freaky, but it works for Catherine Zeta-Jones." She trailed off, turning at the sound of cracking and growling. Lazarus, now full transformed into a skeleton creature with a scorpion's tail and claws, reared up, roaring loudly.

"Run!" The Doctor cried, grabbing Danni's hand and pulling her inside as Martha and Tish followed. He pushed her towards Martha and the three females continued downstairs as he used the screwdriver to seal the monster outside. Martha pressed the button for the lift then turned to her sister, who was staring upwards in shock.

"Are you okay?" She asked and Tish nodded.

"I was gonna snog him." She replied. Seeing that was all she was worried about Martha relaxed slightly. The Doctor joined them as Lazarus increased his efforts to get into the building, setting off a siren. All the lights went off as the building seemed to shut itself down.

"Security breach. Security breach. Security beach." A female automated voice called over the PA system.

"What's happening?" Martha whispered.

"Uh, an intrusion." Tish replied unsurely, "It triggers a security lockdown. Kills most of the power. Stops the lifts. Seals the exits."

"He must be breaking through that door. The stairs, come on!" Martha and Tish bolted for the stairs, Danni staring up at the door as Lazarus threw himself against it.

"Danni, come on!" The Doctor grabbed her hand, "What is wrong with you tonight?"

"It's just hitting me how real this actually is." She explained as they ran down the stairs after the sisters, "Just pull me along, once I stop freaking out about the _huge fricking monster_ chasing us, I'm sure I'll be of some use!" She shouted as the door above them was thrown off it's hinges, crashing against the floor loudly. She whimpered, picking up her speed to get away from it.

"He's inside!" Martha cried, pausing to look upwards as the Doctor and Danni ran past her.

"Haven't got much time!" The Doctor replied as they made their way all the way down to the reception room, where are the guests were causing a commotion demanding to know what was going on.

"Tish! Is there another way out of here?" The Doctor asked.

"There's an exit in the corner, but it'll be locked now." She replied, pointing at it. The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and tossed it at her.

"Martha, setting 54. Hurry." Martha nodded and ran off to open the door with Tish following. The Doctor pulled Danni to Lazarus' machine, jumping on the small platform in front of it.

"Listen to me! Your people are in serious danger! You need to get out of here right now!" He shouted.

"Don't be ridiculous." A woman in gold scoffed, "The biggest danger here is choking on an olive." The sound of glass shattering filled the room and everyone span to see the monster Lazarus had become appear above them before jumping down into the reception room with a roar. Martha and Tish upped their efforts as the guest began running from the monster, crushing them against the glass doors. The monster began destroying the room, flipping tables over and roaring angrily.

"Mum, get back!" Leo pushed his mother out of the way into the arms of a man in black suit as a table flew towards them, knocking him over.

"Leo!" She screamed as Martha managed to open the door, ushering the terrified people out of the room.

"Over here! This way! Everyone downstairs now! Hurry!" She told them as they fled out and down more stairs. Danni watched how she handled the situation, much more calm and focused than she was.

"No! Get away from her!" The Doctor shouted and she turned to see the woman in gold, frozen in fear as Lazarus headed towards her. Danni narrowed her eyes.

"Not going to happen!" She cried as she ran towards her, diving at her and rolling them both on the floor as Lazarus' tail shot out, narrowly missing them both. She pulled the woman off the floor and shoved her towards the door.

"Run!" She shouted and the woman did just that as Lazarus turned his attention to Leo, catching the smell of his blood from the cut on his head. His mother held him close as he drifted in and out of conciousness.

"Lazarus! Leave them alone!" The Doctor shouted, pulling the monster's attention away from the family. Martha dashed over and helped her mother get her brother off the floor. Danni rushed over and helped them as Leo was rather heavy.

"Martha." Her mother breathed.

"C'mon, stay with me. You're okay." Martha coaxed her brother gently and they headed towards the exit.

"What's the point if you can't control it? The mutation's too strong. Killing those people won't help you. You're a fool, a vain old man who thought he could defy Nature. Only Nature got her own back, didn't she? You're a joke, Lazarus! A footnote in the history of failure!" The Doctor taunted before running the opposite direction, away from the exit and into the depths of the building, Lazarus following.

"What's the Doctor doing?" Tish asked as Martha began examining her brother.

"He's trying to buy us some time to get everyone out." Danni replied.

"Leo, look at me, focus on me. Let me see your eyes." Martha told her brother, who struggled to look at her. She turned to her mother, "He's got concussion. Mum, you'll need to help him downstairs." She spotted an ice bucket and put some in a napkin, handing it to her.

"This'll keep the swelling down. Go! I'll be right behind you!" She gently but firmly directed her mother and brother away from the room, turning back to Tish who didn't move, "Tish, move! We need to get out of here!" Tish nodded and turned to run after her family but Danni stayed still, watching the empty room intently, "Danni, come on!" She shook her head.

"No, I can't just leave him Martha." She replied, "I'd just be useless down there anyway. Go with your family. I know he comes back here, and I can help him." Martha held out the sonic screwdriver, knowing there was no way she was going to be able to convince her to follow.

"Give this to him, then." Danni shook her head.

"No, you need it to get out of the building. The Doctor once saved the world with no TARDIS, no screwdriver and in 22 minutes, give it back to him when you see him again." Martha didn't look too happy at leaving her, but she hugged her tightly.

"Don't get killed, or I'm bringing you back and killing you myself." Danni laughed.

"I promise. Now, go!" She pushed Martha away and watched as she ran after her family. She grabbed the bottle of champagne out of the ice bucket and drank straight from it before taking off towards the laboratory they had been in before. The Doctor was right, she hadn't been much use so far but that was about to change.

_~0~0~0~_

Danni began opening all the gas taps on all of the desks as soon as she entered the room, covering her mouth and nose with her other hand as she flooded the room with the flammable gas before hopping up on one for the desks and pulling a large round bulb out of it's socket. She struggled to pull the fitting out and yanked one of the two wires off where it was connected and wrapped it around the other one, coughing slightly as the gas began filling the room. The door opened at the Doctor ran it, staring at her in shock.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" He shouted as she jumped down.

"Helping you, obviously." She told her before coughing again. She motioned him over, "Over here!" He ran over and the pair moved to the back of the room.

"Flooding the room with gas and creating a spark using the light switch, that's brilliant!" He told her and she grinned.

"I'd take the credit, but I stole it from you." She replied quickly as Lazarus smashed his way in. He pulled her down behind a desk, handing her a handkerchief from his pocket. She smiled and held it over her mouth and nose.

"More hide-and-seek, Doctor? How disappointing." Lazarus drawled, "Why don't you come out and face me?"

"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" The Doctor and Danni stood up, "Why would I wanna face that, hmm?" He grinned as Lazarus began to charge towards them and they both ran from the room, the Doctor flicking the row of light switches as they did. The room exploded and sent them both to the floor, skidding further way. Danni began taking deep breaths of the clean air. They looked at each other and laughed happily. The Doctor pulled her up and they began running away, hand in hand, to meet Martha who ran around a corner into the pair.

"Not you as well. What are you doing here?" He asked, surprised. Martha handed him his sonic screwdriver.

"I'm returning this." He took it and put it in his pocket, "I thought you might need it."

"How did you-?" He asked, confused.

"I heard the explosion. Guessed it was you." Martha told him.

"We blasted Lazarus." He explained.

"Did you kill him?" She asked just as Lazarus burst into the hallway and pounced at them, falling into a gap between the two corridors.

"I'd say more annoyed him. Run!" Danni cried and the trio began running away as Lazarus roared angrily after them.

"I thought you were waiting for him in the reception room." Martha asked Danni, who shot her a smirk.

"That seemed boring. So I went to help him. It won't be the first time, or the last. He needs a lot of help."

"Hey!" The Doctor exclaimed and she giggled, squeezing his hand.

"Don't worry, dear. It's nothing to be ashamed of." He mock-glared at her.

"I don't need any help!"

"You do from me." She replied.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor, Danni and Martha burst into another room, running into the middle where they saw Lazarus's machine. They looked around, seeing they had ended up back in the reception room, now completely trashed by Lazarus's earlier rampage.

"What now? We've just gone 'round in a circle!" Martha exclaimed.

"We can't lead him outside!" Danni added as the Doctor looked around, his gaze landing on the machine.

"Come on, get in!" He shouted, opening in the door and the three entered, the Doctor struggling to shut the door on the capsule. The room had only been decide for one user at at time and they were squished together, Danni pressed against the Doctor's chest almost painfully as she was crushed against Martha.

"Well, this is cosy." She muttered.

"Are we hiding?" Martha whispered

"No, he knows we're here." The Doctor replied, panting slightly, "But this is his masterpiece. I'm betting he won't destroy it, not even to get at us."

"But we're trapped!" Martha exclaimed.

"Well, yeah, that's a slight problem." He admitted and she stared at him incredulously.

"You mean you don't have a plan?"

"Yes, the plan was to get inside here!"

"Then what?"

"Well…then I'd come up with another plan."

"In your own time, then." Danni told him before twisting slightly to look at Martha, "Quite frankly though, we should be grateful that he had a plan at any point. They're not his forte."

"I have brilliant plans!" He countered.

"Admit it, you work better under pressure than when you're prepared." Danni told him as she reached up and pulled his screwdriver out of his pocket, "There you go." She told him, moving her hand back down and placing it into his.

"What're you gonna do with that?" Martha asked him and he began trying to crouch down in the small space left. Danni pushed herself up even more against Martha, shooting her an apology.

"Improvise." The Doctor replied as he popped open a panel on the ground and began examining the contents.

"I still don't understand where that thing came from." Martha stated as she watched Lazarus's shadows being cast on the walls from outside, "Is it alien?"

"No, for once it's strictly human in origin." He replied as he soniced some of the wires in the panel.

"Human?" She explained, "How can it be human?"

"The machine unlocked some dormant genes from way back and they're fighting against the current human ones, but I'd say they're winning." Danni replied.

"So it's a throwback?" She whispered.

"Some option that evolution rejected for you millions of years ago, but the potential is still there. Locked away in your genes, forgotten about until Lazarus unlocked it by mistake." The Doctor muttered.

"It's like Pandora's box."

"Exactly." He shifted and looked up at Danni, a small smirk on his face, "Nice outfit, by the way. You should have bare legs more often." She grinned, blushing slightly and Martha rolled her eyes. The noise of machinery starting up sounded around them and the capsule filled with a blue light.

"Doctor, what's happening?" Martha asked worriedly.

"Sounds like he's switched the machine on." Danni murmured as the whirring increased.

"That's not good, is it?" Martha pressed.

"Well, I was hoping it was gonna take him a little bit longer to work that out." The Doctor replied quickly, hurrying his modifications onto the circuit board he had in his hands. There was a bright flash of light and Martha and Danni slammed their eyes shut.

"I don't want to hurry you, but-" Martha exclaimed.

"I know, I know. Nearly done." He promised as he continued.

"What're you doin'?" Martha demanded.

"Trying to set the capsule to reflect energy rather than receive it."

"Will that stop him?" Danni asked.

"When he transforms, he's three times his size—cellular triplication—so he's spreading himself thin." The Doctor replied as if that answered the question.

"We're gonna end up like him!" Martha cried as there was another flash of blinding light.

"Just one more!" He pulled a wire off the board and the bright light disappeared as the energy left the room, throwing Lazarus away from the machine with a yelp. The Doctor opened the door slowly, Danni following him as he stepped out, then Martha.

"I thought we were gonna go through the blender then." Martha admitted.

"Really shouldn't take that long just to reverse the polarity. I must be a bit out of practice." The Doctor spotted Lazarus on the floor, dead and naked. They approached him.

"Oh God. He seems so…human again." Martha looked up at the Doctor, "It's kind of pitiful."

"Eliot saw that, too." The Doctor told her.

"'This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper.'" Danni quoted and the Doctor put an arm over her shoulder, squeezing her tightly as they stood there.

_~0~0~0~_

_This story has just hit 30 reviews! That's like... just fantastic, as the Doctor would say :) I feel like that I should do something if I ever hit 50, like, you know, send a freaking rocket to the moon or something :P but seriously, thank you all for your kind words and encouragement, it really helps me when I'm stuck writing. And thank you for the virtual unicorn, t'is the first one I've ever received, and I shall treasure it XD_


	12. The Slightly Expected Plan

The emergency services turned up soon after his death and they followed them out down the stairs as they wheeled Lazarus away under a red blanket. The Doctor undid his bow tie, then the top button of his shirt as they lifted the body into the back of an ambulance.

"Maybe you're right." Danni sighed and the Doctor turned to her.

"About what?"

"About that suit." He chuckled slightly and squeezed her hand.

"Oh, she's all right." Martha was taken by surprise as her sister hugged her tightly.

"Ah, Mrs Jones, we still haven't finished out chat." The Doctor said with a smile as she stormed up to him, slapping him across the face hard. Some of the crowd who were watching gasped.

"Keep away from my daughter." Mrs Jones bit out as Martha span around.

"Mum, what are you doing?" She exclaimed angrily as Danni moved the Doctor's hand off his cheek to check the red mark there.

"All their mothers, every time." He murmured.

"I did tell you not to piss her off." Danni replied in a slightly sing-song voice, placing a kiss on the area and turning to watch the mother and daughter argue, standing in front of the Doctor in case Mrs Jones tried anything else.

"He is dangerous! I've been told things." She hissed.

"What are you talking about?" Mrs Jones took her daughter by the shoulders.

"Look around you! Nothing but death and destruction!" She replied, trying to convince her daughter, who batted her away angrily.

"This isn't his fault. He saved us, all of us!" Martha shouted.

"And it was Tish who invited everyone to this thing in the first place. I'd say technically, it's her fault." Leo added, trying to calm his mother down. Tish rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the side. There was a crash and they all looked to try and find the source. The Doctor shot a look at Martha before running off. Danni paused and placed a hand on Martha's arm.

"Do what you think is right, and everything will work out." She told her with a smile before dashing off after him. She caught up with him just as he reached the ambulance Lazarus had been loaded into, gasping at the remains of the paramedic. Martha joined them, staring in shock at the sight.

"Lazarus," the Doctor stated, "back from the dead. Should've known, really." He took out his sonic screwdriver and began searching for Lazarus.

"Where's he gone?" Martha asked as Tish joined the trio. The Doctor turned slowly on the spot until the sonic began beeping as it had done before.

"That way. The church." He stated as he looked up at the giant building.

"Cathedral." Tish automatically corrected, "It's Southwark Cathedral. He told me." She explained at their surprised looks. The Doctor ran towards the entrance, the three girls following closely. He entered first, screwdriver held out in front of him, as they walked quietly down the main aisle between the benches.

"Do you think he's in here?" Martha whispered.

"Where would you go if you were looking for sanctuary?" The Doctor replied as they continued to the alter, following the beeping of the screwdriver. They continued looking out for the monster as they headed behind the alter, finding Lazarus gasping in pain, wrapped in the red blanket his body had been under. He had a fine sheen of sweat covering him as he fought against the mutation.

"I came here before." He told them, "A lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat there, just a child…the sound of planes and bombs outside."

"The Blitz." Danni stated quietly.

"You've read about it."

"We were there." The Doctor replied as he moved next to her and Danni frowned in confusion before shrugging; maybe she went there in the future.

"You're too young." He scoffed.

"So are you." Lazarus laughed, it quickly turning to a gasp of pain as he continued fighting, his body contorting painfully as it cracked under the strain. The Doctor began pacing around him, looking upwards as he took in the surroundings, forming a plan.

"In the morning, the fires had died, and I was still alive. I swore I'd never face death like that again." Lazarus continued, "So defenceless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it."

"That's what you were trying to do today." The Doctor realised.

"That's what I _did_ today." Lazarus snapped angrily.

"What about the other people who died?" The Doctor snapped back, just as angrily as he made his way back to Danni.

"They were nothing. I changed the course of history." He replied, his head held high.

"Any of them might have done, too. You think history's only made with equations? Facing death is part of being human. You can't change that."

"No, Doctor. Avoiding death. That's being human. It's our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fibre of being. I'm doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I've simply been more…successful." He cried out, this time the force of the change becoming stronger.

"Look at yourself! You're mutating! You've no control over it! You call that a success?" The Doctor jeered harshly.

"I call it progress." He contorted again, "I'm more now that I was. More than just an ordinary human." He panted.

"There's no such thing as an ordinary human." The Doctor told him. Lazarus yelled in pain and fell to the floor convulsing. Martha walked up to the Doctor.

"He's gonna change again at any minute." She pointed out.

"I know. If I can get him up into the bell tower somehow, I've an idea that might work."

"Up there?" Martha and Danni looked up as the Doctor nodded.

"You're so sentimental, Doctor. Maybe you are older than you look." Lazarus looked up at the Doctor, the mere presence of the other man making him angry.

"I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one. In the end, you just get tired. Tired of the struggle. Tired of losing everyone that matters to you. Tried of watching everything turn to dust." He crouched down next to him, "If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you end up alone."

"That's a price worth paying." Lazarus whispered.

"Is it?" He twisted and writhed again, obviously becoming weaker against it.

"I will feed soon."

"I'm not gonna let that happen." The Doctor swore.

"You've not been able to stop me so far." Lazarus replied triumphantly.

"No, but I did." Danni pointed out as she moved towards the pair.

"When?" Lazarus gasped.

"The woman in gold, at the reception. I saved her from you, and I'll do it again. After all, you won't be able to resist such... young, fresh meat, will you?"

"Danni, no!" The Doctor exclaimed, terrified for her as Lazarus snarled and jumped up. Danni began running away from him as he chased her, still in human form and wrapped in the red blanket. Martha and Tish appeared by her side as she headed towards what she hoped were stairs.

"You're not supposed to follow!" Danni shouted at her.

"Whose going to keep you out of trouble?" Martha replied and Danni rolled her eyes. She looked over her shoulder.

"Doctor! The tower!" Danni shouted and he grinned when he realised what she was doing. She threw a door open and cheered when she saw the stairs, sprinting up them as fast as she could. She tripped over and landed on her hands and knees, unsteady on the heels as she had been before. She sat down and pulled the shoes off, chucking them down in a vain attempt to delay Lazarus.

"No more heels. Ever." She panted, "And always a jacket, it's so cold!" Martha began to laugh, only stopping as a loud scream rang through the stairwell.

"Did you hear that?" Tish asked and Martha nodded.

"He's changed again." She breathed and Danni pushed herself up.

"Keep moving, I'm not being eaten by him!" She told them and the trio continued, reaching a flat area with a low ceiling, arched holes in one wall for windows into the main hall.

"Danni?! Martha?!" They heard the Doctor scream and Martha stuck her head out of one.

"Doctor!" She replied.

"Is Danni there with you?"

"Yes." Martha told him, slightly exasperated. They were busy running away from a mutant, now was not the time for his dormant protectiveness of the ginger woman to come out.

"Take him to the top, the very top of the bell tower, d'you hear me?!" He commanded and she nodded. Danni turned at a roar and saw the now fully changed Lazarus hurtling towards them. Tish caught sight of him at the same time and the pair shared terrified looks.

"Up to the top!" Martha confirmed and Tish tugged her arm.

"Martha…"

"Then what?" Martha asked the Doctor, ignoring her sister.

"Martha, come on!" Danni cried, pulling her out of the window. Martha yelled as she saw the monster and they continued running, just managing to dodge him as he swiped at the trio.

_~0~0~0~_

The three women rushed into a room, finally arriving at the top of the bell tower. There was a circular wooded runway with rails all around and a massive hole leading to the hall below. The ran around to the other side of the runway to the doors.

"There's nowhere to go! We're trapped!" Tish cried.

"This is where he said to bring him." Martha told her.

"All right, so we're not trapped. We're bait."

"He knows what he's doing. We have to trust him."

"It's to do with soundwaves." She turned to Martha, "Remember, in the lab? He said something smart about hypersonic sound waves. And look," She pointed upwards, "There's a huge bell just there. We've got to stall him." The door burst apart from it's hinges and Lazarus entered.

"Ladies." He hissed, blocking their only way out. Martha pushed her sister behind her, Danni standing slightly in front of Martha.

"Stay behind me. If he takes us, make a run for it. Head down the stairs, you should have enough time." Martha told her sister, who protested, "Just do it, Tish!" Lazarus swung his tail at them, all of them ducking out of the way just in time, Tish screaming in fright. He attacked again, this time the girls spreading out from each other, each crouching down away from his stinger. The sound of an organ began ringing through the church, but it didn't bother Lazarus who aimed his tail at Danni, hitting her side and sending her into the wall as it also took some of the railing away. She tried to run away but it caught her on the side of her head and she fell over the side, clinging to pathway tightly as she screamed.

"Danni!" Martha screamed, trying to get neared to her friend. Lazarus leapt over the hole to get neared to her, standing over her victoriously.

"Hold on! Get away from her!" Tish cried. He lashed out mockingly, her flinching away as she dangled in mid air as the music became faster and faster.

"Doctor! Hurry up!" Danni screamed as loud as she could, hoping her could hear her. The noise from the organ suddenly increased in volume as the sound waves bounced off the walls of the small space, echoing in the bell above them. Tish and Martha covered the ears in pain as Lazarus began to writhe in agony, eventually toppling over the edge and landing with a thud on the floor below. Danni looked down and saw the pitiful human form of Lazarus on the floor, just as her grip slipped and she screamed. Martha reached out and grabbed one arm, Tish joining her and grabbing the other.

"We've got you. Hold on." Tish told her as the sisters pulled her up.

"That's the last time I take anything for you, Martha Jones." She panted out and Martha laughed/

"Danni?!" The Doctor screamed up as the trio huddled on the floor, sobbing together in relief.

"I'm okay." She stuttered out, clinging to Martha.

"Danni?!" The Doctor shouted again, this time sounding much more worried.

"I'm okay! We're all okay!" She shouted louder, realising her probably couldn't hear her, "Thanks." She told Martha before looking at Tish, "Both of you."

"It's your Doctor you should be thanking." Tish told her and she laughed.

"Who'da thought it? The Doctor, having a plan." Danni sniffed, leaning her head on Martha's shoulder.

"He cut it a bit fine there, didn't he?" Tish pointed out and they laughed slightly.

"He always does." Martha told her sister.

"It's more fun that way, apparently. I don't see the appeal, myself." Danni added.

"Who is he?" Tish pressed, neither of them answering the question before.

"He's…" Martha trailed off, not knowing how to begin to answer her.

"He's the Doctor." Danni replied simply.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor knelt down by Lazarus's body, observing him silently before reaching out and closing his eyes in respect as his body turned back to it's old 76 year old form. He jumped up and began running to the stairwell, almost reaching it as Danni barrelled out and jumped on him for a tight hug. He lifted her up, squeezing her just as tightly, his eyes closed as he leant on top her head. He had just come so close to losing her, just like he had lost Rose, and he was _not_ prepared to lose her as well. The very idea of her not being there seemed to send chills throughout his body, although he'd be damned if he knew why. Danni pulled back, a huge grin on her face.

"You took your time! You left me dangling there for ages, next time I play the organ and you can get chased by the mutant man. How do you even know how to play?" Danni exclaimed and he placed his hands in his pockets, deciding to ignore it for now.

"If you hang around with Beethoven, you're bound to pick a few things up." He told her and she nodded.

"Especially about playing _loud_." She teased and he leant forward, a fake frown on his face.

"Sorry?" She laughed and hugged him again, this time arms around his waist. Martha watched them with a resigned smile and her sister rubbed her arm in condolence.

_~0~0~0~_

Martha leant against the door of the TARDIS and the Doctor unlocked it, Danni smiling at her knowingly. They were back in Martha's flat, having gotten away before the authorities had arrived and everything became more complicated.

"Something else that just kind of escalated, then." The Doctor said and Martha nodded slowly.

"I can see a pattern developing. You should take more care in the future. And the past, and whatever other time period you find yourself in." She warned him gently.

"It's been fun, though, isn't it?" He asked with a grin.

"Yeah." She replied, a grin of her own as they laughed together.

"So, what d'you say, one more trip?" He asked with a pointed look. Martha gazed up at the box, pondering for a moment before shaking her head.

"No. Sorry." She apologised and he frowned.

"What do you mean? I thought you liked it." He asked, confused.

"I do, but I can't go on like this." She explained, "'One more trip.' It's not fair."

"What're you talking about?"

"I don't want to be just a passenger anymore. Someone you take along for a treat. If that's how you still see me, well, I'd rather stay here." She looked down, sulking slightly as the thought annoyed her. She was so much more than just a guest, if he couldn't see that then she didn't want to be around him anyway.

"Okay, then. If that's what you want." He told her, a serious look on his face. Her head shot up; she hadn't been expecting that.

"Right. But we've already said good-bye once today so it's really best if you just go." She turned and walked away, looking out the window of her flat with her back towards him.

"Martha, you're an idiot." Danni told her and she turned around, a cross look on her face.

"What? Why?" She asked.

"He said okay." Danni told her with a giggle before entering the TARDIS.

"Sorry?" She heard Martha ask.

"I said okay." The Doctor replied and she heard Martha squeal.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" Danni rolled her eyes as she sat down on the jump seat.

"Well, you were never really just a passenger, were you?" The Doctor told her as they entered together and the Doctor flew them away. Danni-Girl, the Doctor and his new companion; Martha Jones.

_~0~0~0~_

_Another shortish chapter, that's not good is it? Sorry :( Also, very sorry but after the next original chapter, I haven't finished the next episode, so it maybe even longer until I update again. I'm trying to get it done for the end of the week so that my updating isn't too delayed, but I can't promise cause work gets in the way :) What's really annoying is that I actually have the following episode all ready to post, but I want the next one in the middle :P Ahh, t'is the life of the fanfiction writer._

_As for reviews, as always I'm very grateful for all your lovely words. In regards to Rose's jacket it the first chapter, in my head Danni appeared after Donna, so I see it as she doesn't see her as the owner because she turned up after her, and as she's just been torn from her wedding she's not going to think too much about it, just going for the first conclusion she thinks of._

I don't mind you liking her upset, I do like to tease her myself :) If you like that, wait til the next episode, I'm going to be quite mean to her ;)

_And thank you for the virtual mermaid XD I loved the Little Mermaid as a kid (still do :D) so am uber excited about having one of my own :) And thank you for your support, I'm very glad you're enjoying it. That'll all change next chapter, just you wait and see XD_


	13. The Mineral Lakes of Koorharn

Danni blinked in confusion as she saw Martha and the Doctor stood in practically the same positions she had seen them in before her Manipulator had activated just moments ago. The Doctor had just invited Martha to travel in the TARDIS with him, and they had been going to some ocean planet with a name she couldn't pronounce when her manipulator had activated, but she didn't seem to have actually gone anywhere.

"Have I not moved?" She asked them and the Doctor shook his head.

"It's been about a day." He replied.

"You missed a killer sun." Martha told her, "And the Doctor finally giving me a key!" She presented the yale key proudly.

"Oh!" He exclaimed before pulling out another key and held it out to her, "Since you're always jumping about, it's about time I gave you one too." Danni grinned and took it off him.

"Hey, now I'm a proper companion!" She cried excitedly then chucked her arms around him, hugging him tightly, "Thank you!" He hugged her back before letting her go.

"I always wondered how you had a key, then I realised that at some point I had to have given you it." She studied the key closely, as if it was a piece of jewellery.

"I'll have to get a chain or something so I don't lose it." She muttered to herself, guessing she would need it for however long she was going to be here. For now, she held it tightly, not having anywhere to put it, "Where are we off to now then?" She asked.

"We're going ice skating on some frozen mineral lakes." Martha told her.

"The Mineral Lakes of Koorharn." The Doctor elaborated. She nodded, remembering the Doctor suggesting it to Martha at the end of '42', before giving her the key. So, she didn't do 42. Maybe she should write all this down, it was going to be hard to keep track. She shrugged to herself, she'll worry about that at a later date.

"Well, I'd better get changed then." She motioned to her clothes, "I'm in an evening dress and I'm not going to freeze again." She bounded towards the hallway before pausing and turning to face him, "You do like to go to cold places, don't you?"

"I've never really thought about it." He told her.

"Every adventure so far I've been freezing. Next time, Space Florida okay?" He nodded with a laugh.

"You got it." She grinned and ran off.

"You were right." Martha commented and the Doctor looked at her, confused.

"About what?"

"You do always give into her. Wonder why." She smirked then shrugged, "I'm sure you'll figure it out. I'd better go catch her. Danni, wait up!" She called as she chased after her. The Doctor stared after his new official companion, pondering on what she had said before shrugging to himself and turning to the console.

_~0~0~0~_

Martha had already headed back to the console room a while ago as Danni walked towards the doorway, having just chosen to change her shoes for a more appropriate pair of boots and grabbing a duffle coat not unlike the one Donna had worn on the Ood Sphere. Would wear on the Ood Sphere. She shrugged to herself, it could be either depending on which way you looked at it, really. She, however, had replaced every piece of her outfit for a more snow-suitable version of the outfit the TARDIS had chosen for her. Instead of the cotton blue dress she now had a much thicker, but still blue, number. Her tights had been changed for black woollen one and her blue ballerina shoes were now flat, leather Mary-Janes. She had found a silver chain for her key and it dangled behind the dress, hidden from view. Finally, the black cardigan was replaced with a black jacket with brown and while fake fur trimmings.

"Oh for god sakes, she's coming!" She heard Martha exclaim, exasperated, "She was just choosing a hat and some gloves." She grinned and jumped out into the room.

"Look, I'm a panda!" She shouted. She had found a black wools hat with a panda face sown on it, two bobbles on top making it's ears. It had been hanging behind a very familiar, very long multicoloured scarf with a pair of matching panda mittens. She had tied her hair into pigtails and shoved it on. Martha burst out laughing, not just at the exclamation but at the excited look on her face, so proud at what she had just done.

"Yes, yes you are." She humoured her friend and Danni smiled widely. The Doctor smiled softly at her as she ran over and linked arms with him.

"Are we going now? I don't think I've ever been ice skating before, do you think I'll do okay?"

"It's not that hard." He promised her as they stepped out of the TARDIS onto a small hill, overlooking a huge frozen lake that glistened in the dusk light. There were mountains towering over the snow-covered landscape. The snow lightly fell from the sky, blowing around them in the small chilly breeze. There was no sign of civilisation and they stood silently for a few moments, just observing the beauty of their surrounding.

"Is there no one here?" Martha asked.

"There was a shift in atmospheric temperature that eventually drove the people onto another planet." The Doctor replied as the trio headed down the hill, all carrying their skates over their shoulders, "The myth is the god Harn gave birth to a miracle baby, and she needed the sun of 10,000 years to incubate her son, so took it from the planet with the promise of eternal wealth and bliss when the sun was returned."

"That's lovely." Danni told him, "I love this part, learning about other cultures. What actually happened?"

"The sun began to die." He explained, "When the planet began to freeze over they all left, vowing to come back when the time was up."

"I like the myth better." Danni declared as they reached the edge of the lake, finding a clump of rocks to sit on the change into their boots. The Doctor jumped up and skated onto the ice, spinning to face her.

"See? Easy peasy?" Danni laughed sarcastically.

"Oh yeah, very easy." She muttered before standing up, using Martha as support to stand on the ice.

"It's just like normal skating, use one foot to push off and try and keep the glide going." Martha explained briefly, showing her quickly. Danni pursed her lips, nodding to herself, and tried it. She grinned as she managed to go a few yards before yelling in surprise as she slipped and fell forward, landing with a thud on her hands and knees.

"You know," she started as she pushed herself up, "I'm starting to feel very glad there's no one here except you two to watch me fail miserably." The Doctor helped her steady herself.

"You'll be fine." He reassured her, "It's like Martha said; one foot in front of the other." She steeled herself and tried again, making it slightly farther before falling, the Doctor catching her before she could hit the ice.

"Oh this is going to be so bad." She mock-sobbed.

"You're doing fine." Martha told her, "You can do it."

_~0~0~0~_

Danni did manage to pick it up relatively quickly, and although she wasn't twirling or jumping through the air, she could at least skate relatively confidently in between her two friends as they made their way around the edge of the huge lake.

"Why are you so good at skating?" Danni asked Martha, "You live in London, there can't be many opportunities to go iceskating on a daily basis."

"My mum thought it would be a good idea to have Tish and me go to ice skating classes when we were kids." She told her, "It went well for a couple of weeks then she got a phone call telling her to go pick Tish up. She'd kicked one of the other girls in the shin and sliced her leg open with the blade on the boot. She wasn't allowed back, so I never went either." Danni laughed.

"Why did she do that?" Martha shrugged.

"She still won't say, but I think it had something to do with this guy we went to school with who she _swore_ she didn't fancy."

"There's nothing like a teen romance to really bump up the violence in anyone's life." Danni replied and Martha laughed.

"Tish was always headstrong, being the oldest she always felt the need to be heard over everyone else."

"I never had any siblings. It makes me worry about my mum and dad, really. Now they have no children left." Danni smiled sadly and they fell into a silence as she thought about her parents. She shook her head, now was not the time to become all depressed.

"Come on, let's race." She stated suddenly, both of them looking at her in surprise, "One side to the other, last one there has to... I don't know, fetch some hot drinks." Martha shot her a concerned look but nodded.

"Yeah, alright then. One the count of three?" She asked and Danni nodded.

"One, two, three, Go!" The trio set off, Danni powering forward with her newfound skill. The Doctor quickly made his way past her, his gangly legs aiding him nicely while Martha and Danni stayed pretty much neck-and-neck until the very end, where Danni chucked herself forwards. She slid across the ice on her front, cheering as she made it to the Doctor a fraction of a second before Martha.

"Did you really just do that?" Martha laughed as Danni scrambled up.

"Of course. Off you trot, Jones. Three hot chocolates." Martha rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'm going."

"The kitchen should have some thermoses. I want my blue one." The Doctor told her.

"Yes, Doctor." Martha sighed, "You're both just giant children." She murmured before skating off towards the TARDIS. Danni turned to the Doctor.

"She's gong to be a while, what d'you want to do?" Danni asked him. He looked around, spotting a large rock across the lake.

"I'll race you to that rock." He pointed across the ice and she nodded.

"All right. One, two, three, go!" They both sped off, the Doctor slowing down every so often to let her catch up before speeding up again. He did think about stopping completely, but that seemed a tad mean considering how rosy her cheeks had become from the excursion so far. He reached the other side of the ice with plenty of time to spare and watched her with a silly grin on his face as she reached him, panting.

"I think you have an unfair advantage." She told him, "You have such long legs, it must give you some automatic power advantage."

"I can't help it if you're so small." He replied and she smacked him on the arm.

"I'm not small, you're just ridiculously tall." She retorted, motioning up and down him with her hand.

"Do you want me to give you a head start next time to compensate?" He teased and she glared at him.

"Don't start with me, Spaceman. Next time I'll win." She warned and he shook his head with a laugh.

"Of course you will." Her eyes narrowed determinedly and she turned around to face the way they came.

"Yes, I will." She swore, "And I'll prove it. On the count of three." He rolled his eyes in amusement and turned around to face the same way.

"All right, if you want to lose a third time I won't say no." She glared at him from the corner of her eye.

"You're being rude again." She told him and he shot her a grin.

"I know, I'm trying to be this time." She looked ahead, focusing on beating him. If he was going to tease her, she was going to thrash him this time.

"Right then, Spaceman. One, two, three, go!" She shouted and pushed off with one foot, shooting slightly ahead. The Doctor paused for a moment then quickly caught up with her, taking over and getting in front of her. She scowled and pushed herself harder, reaching his side through an large amount of effort. He looked down at her and smiled gently at the determined look on her face, when her foot hit a jagged piece of ice and she yelled in surprise, tumbling down onto the ice. He skidded around and bent down to help her up.

"Are you okay?" He asked and she nodded, rubbing her knee.

"My pride hurts, but yeah I'm fine. I almost had you then as well." He laughed, taking her hand.

"Of course you did." She looked up indignantly as they reached the edge of the lake.

"I did! I was right by your side!" She protested as they began to skate together around the edge of the lake. He shook his head at her persistance and they fell into a comfortable silence, observing their surroundings. It truly was beautiful, and she was skating on an alien planet frozen by an ancient god. It was pretty amazing.

"I was going to bring Rose here." He admitted to her, "To somewhere with some real snow. I didn't want to take Martha somewhere else where I'd either taken Rose or thought about taking her, but it seemed too nice of a place to waste."

"I'm sure Rose would've loved it." She told him gently, seeing the bittersweet smile on his face. He still missed her so much.

"Have you met her yet?" He asked and she shook her head.

"Not yet. I'm hoping to soon though. I know I at least meet her once." He looked at her, confused, "When I first landed you asked if I'd come from the 1950's. That was with the televisions that ate people's faces, which was Rose."

"How do you know about all this?" He asked, "You always seem to know what is going to happen before it does." She shrugged.

"I don't know if I can tell you. Rory knew, but that was so far into your future and I don't know if you knew even then."

"I'm sure it's fine." He replied.

"When I've seen this happen, it usually creates a massive cloud of depression to fall over the person receiving the news. I don't want to do that to you." She bit her lip uncomfortably and he sighed.

"You know, I'm sure it'll be more fun working it out anyway." He told her and she looked at him, slightly apprehensive.

"Are you sure?" She asked and he nodded. She smiled and span on her heels, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back and they went back to skating lazily around the edge.

"Had you known me for long, though? In your universe?" She nodded.

"I suppose so. About 7 years, with a few beforehand when I was a kid, but it really started in 2005. I was fascinated by you." He smirked smugly.

"I am quite fascinating." She laughed.

"Yes, you are. But it's also the reason I know why you wanted to come to suddenly take Martha ice skating."

"I just thought it would be nice." He replied defensively.

"It's because you were almost consumed by a screaming, burning sun. Who wouldn't want to go to an ice planet after that?" He waved it off.

"I'm fine. I was just worried I might hurt someone." She skidded to a stop and turned around, taking both his hands in hers.

"I'm not going to push it. If you don't want to talk, then you don't have to. But I'm here if you ever want to, because even Time Lords get scared. You are not alone." He blinked at her, wide-eyed at her choice of words before they narrowed angrily.

"And how do you know? You presume to know how I'm feeling, but you have no clue!" He shouted, "You pretend to know what's going on, but you're never there when I need you the most! Why do you even have to follow me around if you're not going to try to save anyone important?" She was never there. She didn't save him from regenerating, and she didn't save Rose. Wouldn't save Rose. His anger flared even more; she still had Rose to come. Why did she get to spend more time with Rose when he'd never get to see her again?

"I don't have choice where am I, do I?" she snapped back, just as angrily. She poked him in the chest, "I didn't choose to be torn away from everything and chucked into the life of an ungrateful alien, going to whatever random time this thing decides!" She waved her arm at him, "See if I try and help you again!" She span back around and began skating off. He deflated, sighing to himself. He shouldn't let himself get so wound up at her. She couldn't change time, he knew that. And she couldn't help it if Rose was still in her future. At least, after all the rest had gone, she would still be there. She'd told him before that she saw him far into his 11th regeneration, he should be grateful that for once no one left him.

"Danni, wait!" He shouted after her, but she didn't turn around as she headed towards the rocks they had changed their shoes on. She climbed off the ice and yanked her skates off, chucking them onto the snow. Stupid alien, just because he was a pretty boy didn't mean he could be mean to her. She knew he was angry because of Rose, he made that _very_ clear. She couldn't change anything though, otherwise Martha wouldn't be here, and then when the Master came who would travel around the Earth, saving everyone? Everything was linked, it wasn't her fault she just happened to know how! He followed her, sitting next to her. She turned slightly, so she was facing away from him as she grabbed her shoes, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you, it's not your fault." She slammed her shoe down on the rock.

"No, you're right. It's not my fault!" She snapped, "And I am trying my best not to fall to pieces, and I am trying to enjoy this whole thing when really all I want to do is curl up and cry until I pass out but you shouting at me isn't helping!" He put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug.

"I'm sorry." He told her sincerely, "I know this must be hard enough for you without me getting angry at you. And I promise to try harder to not get frustrated someone knows more than me. It rarely happens, I should enjoy it." She giggled at him and scraped up some snow off the rock. She chucked it at him and laughed loudly at the shocked look on his face. She quickly slipped her shoes on and began running away from him, giggling the whole time. He did the same and began chasing her, scooping up snow as he went and threw a snowball at her, hitting her square in the back. They began their own little snowball fight, almost completely soaked by the time Martha turned up with three thermoses.

"What are you doing?" She asked, and they answered with a snowball each, laughing at the outraged look on her face. She placed the drinks down, scooped up some snow and began chucking it in their general direction.

"You two are dead!" She screamed as they ran away from her, laughing loudly.

_~0~0~0~_

The snowball fight had continued into the night and they had finally headed back to the TARDIS only when Danni had turned a nice shade of blue to match her dress. The Doctor had given her a tablet to make sure she didn't catch a cold then had sent her to bed for some rest. She hadn't been tired, so after making herself another cup of hot chocolate, she went in search of Martha who she found watching episodes of 'Scrubs', of all things, in the Entertainment room she had found on her first night aboard the TARDIS. She sat down slowly as not to spill her drink and tucked her legs underneath her.

"You have Scrubs?" Danni asked and Martha nodded.

"The TARDIS basically has any television show ever made. Some of these episodes haven't even been made back where I'm from." They both laughed at the antics of the doctor and the surgeon before Danni turned to Martha.

"Do you miss your parents when you're here?" Martha stared at her for a moment, surprised at the question, then looked upwards in thought.

"Sometimes." She settled on, "It's hard to miss them when we're running away from witches or Daleks, but when I stop I remember them."

"I've not been missing them too much. Sometimes it hits me and all I can think about is how much I miss home, but sometimes I'm just having a really good time." Danni admitted, "Is that bad?" Martha turned to look at the red-head who was staring into her mug sadly. She scooted closer.

"You've barely had a chance to miss them yet, have you?" Martha pointed out, "And you can't spend your whole life crying and being sad, not when you're out there experiencing the universe like we are. I mean, we just have a snowball fight on a frozen planet no one had stepped on in years." Danni let out a laugh and nodded, "What we all have to remember is to never forget the people we leave behind, but to spend your life wishing you weren't here would be a waste of all this splendour." Danni took a sip of her drink and leant on Martha's shoulder.

"You're very smart." She told the trainee-doctor.

"I should hope so." Danni chuckled, "And when you are feeling down, me and the Doctor will always be there for you. No matter what time you've jumped to." Danni smiled at her gratefully before they fell into silence, watching the rest of the episode until the credits rolled.

"Does The Simpsons exist here?" Danni asked Martha, who nodded.

"Yeah, of course. I think that show exists in every universe." Danni giggled and nodded.

"Most likely. Can I put an episode on, please?" Martha nodded.

"Sure. It's telepathic. Just think of the episode and it should come on. Most of the time it works." Danni looked at the screen, her face scrunching up in concentration until the screen turned blue and the classic start began playing. Danni beamed, happy it had actually worked.

"What episode did you choose?" Martha asked.

"The one where Mr Burns wants to find his old teddy bear. It always makes me feel better." She explained.

"I always liked the one where they move to the other city and it's owned by a supervillain." Danni laughed in recognition.

"Oh yeah, and he gives Homer that baseball team at the end." The episode started but the two women began reminiscing on classic episodes, making each other laugh until they had missed the entire episode and Danni had drank her drink. She frowned, looking into the cup then stood up, stretching.

"I better go to bed, I had strict instructions to lie down after I took that pill." Danni told Martha, who nodded. The Doctor probably knew she wouldn't have gone to bed, but she couldn't blame the man for trying.

"All right. Sleep well."

"You too." She left the room and headed down the corridor towards her room, taking a detour into the library. She stared up at the giant open staircase leading to even more books, all covered with a dome ceiling obviously there for decoration. She walked along the aisles, looking for fiction and then down to crime, running her finger over the spines of all the books until she stopped on the one she had been looking for. She pulled out 'Melody Malone: Private Detective in Old New York Town' and studied the artistic rendition of River Song on the front before turning and flipping to the final chapter. As she read, tears filled her eyes and she slammed it shut before she could reach the end. She sniffed, wiped her eyes and left the library, book in hand as the TARDIS filled the spot with another copy, ready for the trip to Manhattan.

_~0~0~0~_

_And there it is, my first original chapter :) Hope you like it, I just wanted a bit of nothing happening because I feel that if all the companions did was run away from bad guys, they really wouldn't stay too long. Seeing the nice, calm bits of the universe must be as important as all that running. I also wanted to not just have her in the episodes we've seen, but I'm not going to do too many original adventures, mostly just reference them in other episodes._

_I got loads of reviews last chapter, I was like this :o when I saw how many, so thank you!_

_I like 11/Danni best too, because he can be so damn adorable with her sometimes XD Of the chapters I have written out with them too, they make me want to squeal and I'm the one who's written it :) _

_I was so chuffed when I read that you thought that, although it did take me a moment to work out 'OTP' cause I'm a bit of an idiot when it comes to internet slang. I hope you enjoy them for the rest of the story, which is turning out to be quite long :)_

_I don't know what I'm going to do with all these virtual animals, so I'll let you know which episode it is next so I can have the zoo to put them it :) It's season 2, and it'll be New Earth. Danni's first meeting with Rose :P I'm about half way through the episode at the moment, so first chapter of it should be on Saturday, hopefully. Definitely Sunday if not because I have the weekend off for the first time in forever and plan to do as much writing and as little housework as is possible XD_


	14. The New New Doctor

The Doctor let Rose open the door, and she stepped out first onto the windy stretch of grass outside. He mouth dropped open as she took in the futuristic city across the water in front of them, all white towers and flying vehicles zooming over their heads.

"It's the year five billion and twenty three we're in the galaxy M87, and this... this is New Earth." He told her with a smile, looking from side to side just to make sure they'd landed in the right place.

"That's just- that's-" She stuttered before laughing happily in wonder at the sight.

"Not bad. Not bad at all!" He replied with nod.

"That's amazing. I'll never get used to this. Never. Different ground beneath my feet!" She jumped up and down, beaming, "Different sky...!" She looked upwards, "What's that smell?" She asked. The Doctor reached down and pulled some grass up, sniffing it before handing it to her.

"Apple grass."

"Apple grass!" She exclaimed happily, giggling again.

"Yeah, yeah!"

"That's beautiful!" She looked up at the Doctor, a huge smile on her face, "Oh, I love this. Can I just say," She linked arms with him, still looking up at him, "travelling with you, I love it."

"Me too." He replied and Rose laughed, the Doctor grinning. A flash of light interrupted their moment and Danni stumbled into view in brown combats and a blue vest.

"Danni!" Rose cried happily and Danni grinned when she saw her.

"Rose Tyler! It's about time!" She exclaimed. She had been wanting to meet Rose ever since she found out she would be jumping around, she did love the blonde companion on the show. They hugged, Rose seemed very happy to see her which was a good sign. Every companion she met, she was always worried that they wouldn't like her. She frowned in thought and sniffed, "Is that..." She sniffed again, "Is that apple grass?" She bent down and grabbed some, sniffing it before letting it go in the wind, "Oh my god, that's apple grass!" She turned back to Rose, "We're on New Earth!" Rose laughed, still amazed by the new planet.

"Should've known you'd know about apple grass." Danni nodded and opened her mouth to reply when the Doctor grabbed Rose's hand, pulling her past Danni without even looking at her.

"Come on!" He almost snapped and Danni frowned, confused and slightly hurt by his reaction to her. He hadn't even acknowledged her, which was very different to what she was used to. Maybe the last time he had seen her she had annoyed him. Rose looked back over her shoulder, rolling her eyes good naturedly as if she had expected him to act like this. Okay, so maybe it ran deeper than that.

Not really knowing what to do, she followed the pair at a slower speed, watching the Doctor spread his jacket on the ground and he and Rose laid down on it. He grabbed Rose's hand, making sure there was no room for Danni on the jacket, so she sat on the grass behind them.

"So, the year five billion - the sun expands, the Earth gets roasted." The Doctor began. Rose turned to him, smiling.

"That was our first date." He looked up at her, a grin of his own on his face.

"We had chips!" They giggled together until the Doctor looked back and caught Danni's eyes, causing him to stop and clear his throat, "So anyway, planet gone, all rocks and dust, but the human race lives on, spread out across the stars. Soon as the Earth burns up... oh, yeah, they get all nostalgic. Big revival movement, they find this place!" He sat up next to Rose to get a better look at the city across from them, "Same size as the Earth, same air, same orbit, lovely! Call goes out, the humans move in!"

"What's the city called?" Rose asked.

"New New York." Danni called over, feel very uncomfortable about being ignored and the Doctor always seemed to like it when she knew stuff about where they were. So she was very surprised when he shot her a really dark look, very annoyed she even spoke and she frowned, hurt.

"Oh, come on." Rose replied skeptically, obviously not feeling the same way as the Doctor about the ginger girl's presence.

"It's the City of New New York!" The Doctor told her as if Danni hadn't spoken. He paused for a moment, thinking to himself, "Strictly speaking, it's the fifteenth New York since the original. So that makes it New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York." Rose laughed once, looking down at him with a gentle smile on his face. "What?"

"You're so different." Rose told him.

"New New Doctor." Rose giggled happily and he joined in with his own chuckle before they both went back to watching the city continue with it's day in front of them. A metal spider-like creature appeared from the bushes and Danni swatted it away, knowing who was controlling it.

"Shoo, Cassandra." She whispered harshly and it skuttled away, obviously spooked by her.

"I'm quite surprised you even knew who I was." The Doctor spoke up suddenly, turning to look at Danni suspiciously, "You weren't there when I regenerated." She blinked, surprised more at his statement than his tone. Maybe that's why he was angry at her.

"I wasn't?" She replied, "Well, I promise I'll be there next time." He shrugged, turning back around.

"No, it's alright, I don't need you to be there." Danni winced slightly, a move that Rose didn't miss and she stood up.

"Can we go and visit New New York, so good they named it twice?" She asked the Doctor, who also stood up, struggling to put his jacket on in the harsh wind.

"Well- I thought we might go there first." He motioned to a large building on the coast.

"Why? What is it?" She grabbed the back of the coat to help him.

"Some sort of hospital. Green moon on the side - that's the universal symbol for hospitals."

"He got a message from someone there." Danni piped up. The Doctor narrowed his eyes at her and pulled out the psychic paper.

"Next you'll be telling us who it is." He muttered and she shrugged.

"I could, but where's the fun in that?" Rose giggled and he showed Rose, the words 'Ward 26' being replaced by 'Please Come' and finally changing to 'Bring Danni' flashing across the paper before restarting.

"Someone wants to see me." He stated and Danni caught her name before he shut the wallet and put it back into his pocket.

"But why me?" She asked him.

"Shouldn't you know?" He retorted.

"Hmm! And I thought we were just sight-seeing." She sighed, mock-annoyed, "Come on then! Let's go and buy some grapes." She linked arms with the Doctor and they grinned at each other before Rose held her hand out to Danni. Danni took it with a grateful smile and the Doctor's grin dropped slightly before they walked off towards the hospital.

"Where have you been? I never thought I'd see you out of a dress." Rose commented and Danni looked down.

"Oh, we've went to this planet, Jayana. It was a forest planet and I wanted to be protected from the plants on the planet floor. It was beautiful." She laughed slightly, "We went swimming in this lake-thing, I forget what he called it, and afterwards we were dry in like10 minutes."

"Is that soon?" Rose asked and Danni shook her head.

"Oh no, it's his 11th self. A long while to go before then." She looked up at the Doctor, who still didn't look very happy she was there. In fact, he didn't even seem to be listening to her. Maybe he just didn't want to hear about his future. She bit her lip; then she wouldn't talk about it anymore.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor, Rose and Danni walked into the hospital, the Doctor's hands now in his pockets.

"Bit rich coming from you." Rose pointed out.

"I can't help it! I don't like hospitals - they give me the creeps!" He replied.

"The Pleasure Gardens will now take visitors carrying green or blue identification cards for the next fifteen minutes. Visitors are reminded that cuttings from the gardens are not permitted." A female voice proclaimed over the tannoy as they stopped in the middle of the reception then turned left. A couple of nuns in futuristic white habits walked past and Rose and Danni looked around in amazement.

"Very smart. Not exactly NHS." Rose stated and Danni nodded.

"Not exactly NHS nurses though, are they?" She nodded towards another pair of nuns.

"No shop." The Doctor whined, "I like the little shop!" Rose paused and turned in the middle of a seating area, taking in the huge building.

"I thought this far in the future, they'd have cured everything."

"The human race moves on, but so do the viruses." The Doctor explained, continuing on, "It's an ongoing war." A nurse walked past, on her own this time, and Rose stared at her feline face as the tannoy proclaimed 'Hope, Harmony and Health'.

"They're cats." She whispered, pointing after the nurse.

"Now, don't stare..." The Doctor teased, "think what you look like to them, all," He looked her up and down, "Pink and yellow." He pointed over her shoulder, "That's where I'd put the shop! Right there!" Rose looked as he walked over to her lift. The Doctor walked over to a lift and Danni tugged Rose's sleeve.

"Come on, he'll leave us behind." She ran after him, diving in the lift just as the doors closed. He scowled at her.

"Ward 26, thanks!" He told the lift before looking down at her, "Why'd ya leave Rose on her own?"

"She'll get in the next lift." Which was true, even if she didn't follow them upwards, "And the paper said my name as well." Rose banged on the doors.

"Hold on! Hold on!" She cried.

"Oh, too late - I'm going up." The Doctor called back to her.

"It's all right, there's another lift."

"Ward 26. And watch out for the disinfectant." He shouted as the lift started upwards.

"Watch out for what?" Rose asked, her voice already getting fainter.

"Oh you'll find out!" Danni shouted down after her, which was also true. The Doctor glared at her.

"Just let me do the talking." He told her as he looked straight ahead and she sighed, tired of his tone.

"All right, Spaceman." She snapped and stood in front of him, "I'm getting a little sick and tired of your attitude issues. I can't believe I've had this argument with you twice in as many days but _stop blaming me_!" He didn't look down at her, in fact look every other way but at her as the in-lift voice stated 'Commence stage one – disinfection'. Warning lights flashed and the pair were soaked in disinfectant. Danni gasped slightly at the cold fluid, but the Doctor just rocked on his heels, before rubbing his hands through his hair as if he was having a shower. She giggled at him and he looked down at her, almost amused by her amusement. He winked before shutting his eyes and she did the same as a white powder puffed out of all the walls at them. She opened her eyes to see them covered in the powder before a huge fan began blow-drying them. She did the best she could with her hair before the lift pinged and the doors opened. He let her out first and the pair stepped into the ward.

"See? You can be a gentleman when you want. What did I do to make you so angry?" He rolled his eyes and pushed her towards Ward 26, where they were met by a nurse in full head dress.

"Nice place." He commented to the nurse as they entered the room, "No shop, downstairs. I'd have a shop. Not a big one - just a shop. So people can shop." He rambled and Danni rolled her eyes at him.

"You know, the little shop really isn't the most important thing in world." She told him as the nurse took her face covering off.

"The hospital is a place of healing." The cat nurse replied, surprised at all the talk of shops.

"A shop does some people the world of good. Not me. Other people..."

"Yeah, me." She turned to the nurse as they started walking down the aisle between the two lines of patients, passing a floating red man, "You know what I like to get? Keyrings. Or magnets. You know, something to remind me of where I've been. Nothing big that'll take up a lot of space, just something to jog a memory." She frowned in thought then turned to the Doctor, "I might start doing that. Something for every place I'll go."

"The Sisters of Plentitude take a lifelong vow to help. And to mend." The nurse explained, going back to the matter at hand before the Doctor could give his retort to Danni. He diverted up to a huge fat man, grey and groaning as he turned to stone. There was a woman hovering over him.

"Excuse me!" She snapped, approaching the Doctor who looked back at her in surprise, "Members of the public may only gaze upon the Duke of Manhattan with written permission from the Senate of New New York." She told him primly. He nodded at the Duke.

"That's Petrifold Regression, right?"

"I'm dying, sir. A lifetime of charity and abstinence. And it ends like this." The Duke groaned.

"Any statements made by the Duke of Manhattan may not be made public without official clearance." The woman recited angrily.

"Frau Clovis!" The Duke cried in pain and she rushed to his side, taking his hand, "I'm so weak!" He whispered and she turned to the nurse.

"Sister Jatt! A little privacy, please!" She barked out and Sister Jatt motioned for them to continue on.

"He'll be up and about in no time." She reassured them.

"I doubt it. Petrifold Regression? He's turning to stone. There won't be a cure for... oh... a thousand years? He might be up and about, but only as a statue..."

"Have faith in the sisterhood. But is there no one here you recognise?" The Doctor looked around but Danni was already walking over to the Face of Boe, "It's rather unusual to visit without knowing the patient."

"No. I think we've found him." He followed Danni to the Face of Boe, who was by the ward window. Danni looked at him sadly and the Doctor found himself smiling gently at the head in tank who appeared to be asleep, a nurse tending to him.

"Novice Hame-" She turned around at the sound of her name, revealing a younger feline nurse, "if I can leave this gentleman and his friend in your care?" Before she turned to leave the Doctor reached out to stop her.

"Oh, I think my friend got lost. Uh- Rose Tyler. Could you ask at reception?" He asked and she nodded.

"Certainly, sir." She told him before turning and leaving. The three stood watching the Face of Boe.

"I'm afraid the Face of Boe's asleep." Novice Hame told them, "That's all he tends to do these days. Are you friends, or...?" She turned to them and the Doctor shook his head, running a hand through his hair.

"We met just the once on Platform One." He replied, "What's wrong with him?"

"He's dying." Danni stated sadly before kneeling in front of the tank, reaching forward and placing her palm on the glass. Captain Jack Harkness, still all alone after all these years. She knew he didn't die yet, that was later on with Martha but he didn't have long left. The Doctor blinked in surprise, not expecting that answer or the devastated look on her face. She hadn't even met him, she didn't go to Platform One. Maybe she met him at another point. His anger flared up for a moment, that meant she was still in his future, when it should just be him and Rose. They didn't need anyone else.

"Of what?" He asked Novice Hame, not wanting to talk to Danni anymore.

"Old age. One thing we can't cure." She stared at the Face of Boe in awe, "He's thousands of years old. Some people say millions. Although, that's impossible." He smiled at that.

"Oh, no... I like impossible." He knelt down next to Danni, placing a hand on the glass.

"I'm here." He told the creature in front of him, "I look a bit different, but it's me; it's the Doctor." Danni span around on the floor, her head leaning against the glass with her eyes closed. She was smiling sadly to herself.

"I'm here too, you big Boe Face." She whispered.

_~0~0~0~_

'Hope, harmony and health.' The feminine voice on the PA repeated as Danni sat next to the Face of Boe, the Doctor having gone to fetch a drink of water for Novice Hame. Once he realised he didn't really have anything to do for the head in a tank, he had become restless and decided to go for a wander. Danni opted to stay with the Face of Boe, the Doctor having lost his change of heart and had begun to ignore her again. She sat leaning against the tank, this time facing out of the window watching New New York carry on it's daily life.

"Just so you know," She told the head, "If you can hear me, anyway, I've not met you yet. So I may have no idea about anything you want to tell me. But I have to say, you're looking really good." She smiled to herself, "I always thought you'd be amazing to meet. Captain Jack Harkness; the Impossible Man. You would have flirted with me, but then again you flirted with everyone so I knew it wouldn't mean anything." She laughed slightly, "I'm a bit young though, even for you." She sighed, "I wish you were awake, then you could tell me what I'm going to do that makes him act so horrid to me. He's been grumpy since the moment I appeared." The Doctor came back, interrupting her little moment with the sleeping head, with a cone-shaped cup of water for himself and Novice Hame. She rolled her eyes, she didn't warrant a drink obviously.

"That's very kind." Novice Hame said timidly, obviously noticing the tension between the two, "But there's no need."

"You're the one working." He told her, walking over to the window to look at the city.

"There's not much to do." She admitted, "Just maintain his smoke. And I suppose I'm company. I can hear him singing, sometimes. In my mind, such ancient songs." She turned to look at the head affectionately. Danni smiled, at least he had someone.

"Are we the only visitors?" The Doctor asked.

"Another woman and man came, once, but the rest of Boe-kind became extinct. Long ago. He's the only one left. Legend says that the Face of Boe has watched the universe grow old." The Doctor smiled at her devotion, "There's all sorts of superstitions around him," She continued, "One story says that just before his death, the Face of Boe will impart his great secret. That he will speak those words only to ones like himself."

"What does that mean?" He asked, intrigued.

"It's just a story." Novice Hame tried to brush off.

"Tell me the rest."

"It's said he'll talk to a wanderer. To the man without a home and his queen." The Doctor looked at the face, obviously recognising himself in the description but Danni frowned, standing up, "The lonely God."

"How can he be lonely if he had a queen?" She asked and the pair looked at her, almost surprised she was still there.

"It doesn't mean anything. Just whispers surrounding such an ancient creature." Novice Hame told her.

"But it must, if she was important enough to mention. Is there any more on them? Like, I dunno, hair colours or something?" She knew she didn't save Rose either at Torchwood or from the other universe, but maybe there was a third time she didn't know about. Maybe, he wouldn't be so lonely after all. But then again, it was with Martha he died and she knew Martha wasn't the Doctor's 'queen'. Realising how she was sounding, Danni giggled, "Listen to me, worrying over a mythical man, when really I should be wondering where Rose is." She tried to divert attention off herself by turning to the Doctor, "She's been gone a long time, maybe you should ring her." He looked at her suspiciously.

"Where is she?" He asked firmly and she shrugged.

"I don't know. Ring her and find out." He turned and walked off slightly from them, over to the ward phone and dialling Rose.

"Rose, where are you?" He asked lightly when she answered.

"Uhm... wotcha..." He frowned slightly at her voice, something wasn't right.

"Where've you been? How long does it take to get to Ward 26?"

"'m on my way, governor." Danni stood up and walked over, seeing the confused look on his face. He was bound to realise something was wrong with Rose straight away, but not what, "I shall proceed up the Apples and Pears."

"You'll never guess. I'm with the Face of Boe! Remember him?" He laughed slightly, trying to hide his concern as he caught sight of the Duke of Manhattan.

"Course I do... that big old... boat... race..." She stuttered out.

"I'd better go. See you in a minute." He told her before hanging up. He began towards the Duke of Manhattan before pausing and turning to Danni.

"I know you know what's wrong with her." He muttered lowly, "And you're going to tell me." He stormed off and Danni followed.

"Didn't think I was going to make it!" The Duke was telling the woman from before before seeing the Doctor and pointing at him, "It's that man and woman again!" He motioned them over as the Doctor grinned widely at his joy, "They're my good luck charm! Come in! Don't be shy!" Frau Clovis turned to them

"Any friendship expressed by the Duke of Manhattan does not constitute a form of legal contract." She told them, much less angrily this time as she was much too happy that the Duke was alright to care.

"Winch me up." The Duke commanded and as she pressed the button on a remote to do so, he shot them a thumbs up, "Ah! Look at me! No sign of infection!" A waiter walked up to them carrying a couple of champagne flutes on a metal tray.

"Champagne, sir, miss?" They both shook their heads.

"No thanks. Uh... you had Petrifold Regression, right?" The Doctor asked and the Duke nodded.

"That being the operative word! Past tense! Completely cured."

"But that's impossible." He stated with a frown. This was much too early for a cure to be readily available for the disease.

"Primitive species would accuse us of magic," He jumped slightly as a nurse appeared next to them, "but it's merely the tender application of science."

"How on Earth did you cure him?" The Doctor asked, amazed.

"How on New Earth, you might say." She replied with a laugh, not answering his question.

"What's in that solution?" He motioned with his head to the drips above the Duke's bed, having noticed them earlier.

"A simple remedy."

"Then tell me what it is." The Doctor challenged.

"I'm sorry. Patient confidentiality." She told him before looking him up and down, "I don't believe we've met. My name is Matron Casp."

"I'm the Doctor." He told her before shooting her a fake smile.

"I think you'll find that we're the doctors here." The cat hissed in warning.

"I'm Danni, in case anyone cared." Danni muttered, the distinct feeling she was being ignored again. The cat nurse who had left them with the Face of Boe appeared by the Matron's side.

"Matron Casp - you're needed in intensive care." She whispered and Matron nodded.

"If you would excuse me." The two nurses walked off, the two watching them.

"I think," Danni started, "We should go see what's in intensive care."

"I think you should tell me what's happened to Rose." He bit back and she sighed.

"I like Rose, I really do." She told him, "She's been nicer to me than you have, although then again so have the cats. But trust me, intensive care is much more important than that right now." He glared at her.

"_Nothing _is more important than Rose." She sighed.

"Someone has taken over her head so that, among other things, they can find out what is happening in intensive care. Now, don't you think we should find out what it is without them knowing we know so they don't hurt her?" He obviously agreed by the pained look on his face, "Look, you may have some random issue with me that is making you act like an arse, but Rose will be up in a moment so you may want to act a bit less... angry." She stormed over to the Face of Boe, stopping and turning to point at him, "And if it's because I'm ginger and you're not, then so help me I'm going to scream." She turned back around and sat down next to the Face of Boe, "You know, I didn't sign up for a grumpy Time Lord." She muttered to him. Her eyes widened as a chuckle ran through her head and she looked at the head before grinning, "Ha! I knew you could hear me, you sneaky Boe Face."

_~0~0~0~_

_Here were are, on Saturday as promised :) Not much to say today, as always thanks for the reviews and the favourites and the follows :) er... I know that it was never 100% confirmed in the show that Jack was the Face of Boe, just heavily hinted but I've chosen for it to be true. I hope you don't mind and I'll see you next time :)_


	15. The New New Rose

Rose, now being controlled by Cassandra, stepped into Ward 26 flattening her hair down from the disinfection shower. She looked around and smirked to herself when she spotted the Doctor and Danni as they paced amongst the patients, the Doctor checking all the IV drips and not saying a word. Danni frowned when she saw her, the way she held herself was strangely overconfident and her top buttons were now undone on her top.

"There you are!" He stated when he saw her, "Come and look at this patient!" He took her by the arm and led her over to the bright red man they had seen on their way in.

"Marconi's Disease." He told her, "Should take years to recover. Two days. I've never seen anything like it - they've invented a cell washing cascade - it's amazing. Their medical science is way advanced. And this one!" He dragged her over to a bald bright white man, not giving her a chance to speak, "Pallidome Pancrosis. Kills you in ten minutes, and he's fine!" He waved at the patient, who didn't reply, "I need to find a terminal. I've got to see how they do this." He walked off, Danni and Rose following. Danni leant in close to Rose.

"You're trying too hard. 'Apples and Pears', who says that?" She whispered before jogging slightly to get ahead of her.

"Because if they've got the best medicine in the world... then why's it such a secret?" The Doctor continued, looking at her expectantly as she slowed to a stop.

"I can't Adam and Eve it." Rose muttered and the Doctor shot her a confused look.

"What's... what's with the voice?" He asked and Rose turned to him, looking him up and down unashamedly.

"Oh, I don't know... just larking about New Earth... New me..." She took a deep breath, almost posing in front of him. He copied her gaze for a moment before grinning.

"Well, I can talk. New New Doctor." He reminded her from the conversation outside.

"Mmm... aren't you just..." She grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him in for a kiss, her hands grasping his hair tightly. Danni had to bite her lip to stop herself laughing as Rose pulled away, panting slightly and the Doctor had a dumbstruck look on his face as he stared at her, shock. Rose licked her lips.

"T... terminal's this way." She stuttered out before walking off, breathing out in almost relief as she did. The Doctor watched her go before running his hand through his hair.

"Yep... still got it..." Danni laughed and he smiled at her.

"Go on, who is it?" He asked and Danni shook her head.

"I don't think you'll believe me." she told him as they followed.

"Try me." She knew she shouldn't tell him, but then again maybe he'd be nicer to her if she did tell him. She pondered on it for a second.

"The last human." She settled on before they reached Rose, not giving him any time to question her further. He started poking the terminal, bringing up a schematic of the hospital and they all started looking it over, Rose leaning against the wall next to the screen.

"Nope, nothing odd. Surgery, post-po, nano-dentistry, no sign of a shop. They should have a shop." He complained. Rose walked around and stood in front of the screen, scanning for something in particular.

"No, it's missing something else. When I was downstairs, those Nurse/Cat/Nuns were talking about Intensive Care. Where is it...?" She trailed off as the Doctor turned to look at her, Rose wouldn't have taken such a dominant role in the problem solving. The only 'Last Human' he had come across was Cassandra on Platform One, but she had died. He looked at her again, maybe something happened that he missed...

"You're right, well done." He told her, watching her looking at the screen closely.

"Why would they hide a whole department?" Rose continued. He took the screwdriver out of his pocket, "It's gotta be there somewhere. Search the sub-frame." He held the screwdriver to the screen, buzzing it.

"What if the sub-frame's locked?"

"Try the installation protocol..." She replied, sticking her tongue out at him as if he was an idiot. Danni giggled at the look on his face, slightly offended even though he knew that it wasn't Rose talking.

"Yeah, course. Sorry. Hold on." He stopped scanning it and the wall started making a grinding noise. All three stepped back as it moved backwards then downwards, revealing a very different-looking corridor behind it. Rose smirked triumphantly, knowing she was getting closer, and walked straight in without waiting for the other two. The Doctor shot her another suspicious look.

"What happened to her?" He asked Danni.

"I can't remember what it's called, but her mind's inside Rose's." She muttered as they followed.

"Intensive Care. Certainly looks intensive." The Doctor stated loudly in case Rose became suspicious they hadn't followed her. The corridor continued into a huge metal chamber with a set of stairs Rose led them down, where there were rows upon rows of tiny rooms with green doors. They walked along one row, looking around at the sheer vastness of the hidden room. The Doctor walked up to one and opened the door with his sonic screwdriver, revealing a man in a hospital gown covered in boils and broken skin.

"That's disgusting. What's wrong with him?" Rose asked, her hand over her mouth.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The Doctor closed the door, horrified as Rose held her nose, the smell from the man making her nauseous. Danni stroked the door slightly, her eyes welling with tears as the Doctor went to the next door, opening it and revealing a woman in the same state as the man.

"What disease is that?"

"All of them." He told her, "Every single disease in the galaxy, they've been infected with everything." He turned to Danni, "And you knew they were down here!" She nodded.

"They're being used to create the cures for the patients upstairs." She told him.

"What about us? Are we safe?" Rose interrupted.

"The air's sterile. Just don't touch them." He bit out, closing the door and leaning over the railings to see just how many doors there were.

"How many patients are there?" She asked.

"They're not patients."

"But they're sick."

"They were born sick. They're meant to be sick. They exist to be sick. Lab rats. No wonder the Sisters have got a cure for everything. They've built the ultimate research laboratory. A Human farm." He span to Danni, "How dare you keep this from me?!" He shouted, walking up to her. She stepped back, the anger in his eyes scaring her slightly.

"I just thought..."

"You just thought you could save everyone yourself! You selfish little girl!" Her mouth fell open slightly.

"What the hell could I do?!" She shouted back, "The only thing I know is that you create some bloody vaccine, I don't know what! You're the smart one!"

"Yes I am!" He replied, "All you do is hide information, and I'm tired of it! You are happy to condemn everyone in the facility to die just so you don't have to tell me anything!"

"Excuse me!" She shouted, stepping forward and poking him in the chest, "I believe I was the one who told you about intensive care before Rose even turned up! There is _no way_ I would have let you leave this place without saving them. I may only be human but don't you dare suggest I don't care!" Rose watched the two argue and, realising it wouldn't really do much good, moved forward to stop them fighting.

"Why don't they just die?" She asked and the Doctor turned away from Danni, leaving the girl shaking from anger and hurt feelings. She just didn't understand why he was so angry at her, but Rose was fine with her. If anything, she would have thought it would have been the other way around, but the Time Lord seemed to have some deep-rooted problem with her.

"Plague carriers. The last to go." He told Rose as Novice Hame appeared from the end of the row of containers.

"It's for the greater cause." She insisted. He began walking towards her.

"Novice Hame." He bit out, "When you took your vows, did you agree to this?"

"The Sisterhood has sworn to help." She replied.

"What, by killing?" He shouted, horrified by what was going on in the name of medicine. He was the _Doctor_ and this went against everything he stood for; the suffering of anyone went against everything he stood for.

"But they're not real people. They're specially grown. They have no proper existence." She explained, wanting the man to understand why she went along with it. He began striding towards her.

"What's the turnover? Hm? Thousand a day? Thousand the next? Thousand the next? How many thousand? For how many years? How many?" He screamed.

"Mankind needed us. They came to this planet with so many illnesses. We couldn't cope. We did try. We tried everything. We tried using clone-meat and bio-cattle... but the results were too slow. So the sisterhood grew its own flesh. That's all they are. Flesh." She told him with a small smile.

"These people are alive."

"But think of those Humans out there... healthy... and happy, because of us."

"If they live because of this, then life is worthless."

"But who are you to decide that?" He stepped over to her, towering over her threateningly.

"I'm the Doctor. And if you don't like it... if you want to take it to a higher authority, then there isn't one. It stops with me."

"Just to confirm... none of the Humans in the city actually know about this?" Rose asked, peering over the Doctor's shoulder.

"We thought it best not..."

"Hold on. I can understand the bodies. I can understand your vows. But one thing I can't understand - what have you done to Rose?" Rose's eyes went wide, realising she had been caught.

"I don't know what you mean."

"And I'm being very, very calm. You wanna beware of that - very, very calm. And the only reason I'm being so very, very calm is that the brain is a delicate thing. Whatever you've done to Rose's head, I want it reversed."

"We haven't done anything." Novice Hame replied, confused.

"I'm perfectly fine." Rose insisted.

"It wasn't them." Danni spoke up, but he ignored her.

"These people are dying, and Rose would care."

"She's Cassandra!" Danni exclaimed, everyone turning around to stare at her, "You know, 'The Last Human'?" Rose sighed.

"Oh, all right, clever clogs." She snapped before turning to the Doctor, pulling out his tie and using it to pull herself up against him.

"I knew something was going on in this hospital, but I needed this body and your mind to find it out." She told him huskily, "Now, wake up and smell the perfume." She pulled a tube of perfume out of her top and sprayed it in the Doctor's face, causing him to drop to the floor unconscious. Danni knelt down by him, checking he was alright as Novice Hame copied her actions.

"You've hurt him! I don't understand- I'll have to fetch Matron!" Novice Hame said, still terribly confused.

"You do that, 'cause I want to see her. Now, run along! Sound the alarm!" She exclaimed and Novice Hame hurried off. Cassandra turned to Danni, "Now, as for you..." Danni rolled her eyes.

"Perfume to the face, right? Go on then." Cassandra frowned.

"You're not going to fight?" Danni shrugged.

"Yeah, because that's done me a load of good today. Hurry up, yeah?" With a shrug, Cassandra sprayed her as well and she fell on top of the Doctor.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor woke up in one the containers, being propped up by the railings inside like the others. He glanced around, realising just what had happened.

"Let me out! Let me out!" He demanded.

"Oh, fat lot of good that'll do us." Danni snapped. He looked down and found her sitting on the floor by his feet, obviously just waking up herself, holding her head. Oh, that perfume had a bit of a kick to it.

"Oh what are you doing here?" He asked.

"About to die, just like you I suspect." She replied, "Cassandra was hardly about to let me go, was she?"

"You're always everywhere. Why can't you just leave me and Rose alone? Why don't you just _go home?!_" He shouted and she stiffened.

"Because I don't have a home!" She shouted back, standing up and turning around, facing him, "What I have is a grumpy Time Lord. I don't have a home, or a family, all I have is you! And I don't bloody want you!" She began banging on the door, "You let me out _right now_ Cassandra!" A figure appeared distorted through the green glass as Cassandra leant against it.

"Aren't you lucky there was a spare? Standing room only."

"You've stolen Rose's body." He told her, talking around Danni.

"Over the years, I've thought of a thousand ways to kill you, Doctor." She told the man, "And now, that's exactly what I've got. One thousand diseases. You're little friend is just a bonus. They pump the patients with a top-up every ten minutes. You've got about..." She looked at Rose's watch, "three minutes left. Enjoy."

"Just let Rose go, Cassandra." The Doctor demanded.

"I will! As soon as I've found someone younger and... less common... then I'll junk her with the waste. Now hushaby! It's showtime." She walked away slightly to stand in the middle of the gangway. Danni sighed and leant her forehead against the glass.

"Oh great, the cat brigade are here." She muttered as Cassandra began to bargain with the nuns.

"If you had told me that Cassandra was in her head..." Danni glared at him.

"Then what?" She snapped, "You could have commanded her to get out? Because that's worked so far, hasn't it?"

"Don't get snappy with me." She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation, hitting them on the ceiling as she did.

"Says the man who's been in a mood ever since I landed! I'm sick and tired of your mood, I just want to get the over with so I can go somewhere with a little less 'emo' going on!"

"Emo?" He asked despite himself.

"Yes, emo. You're so emotional in this body, it's doimg my head in. We're going to get let out in a second, just hold on and we'll get through this." Just as she finished speaking the door opened and she stumbled out, having been leaning on the door to distance herself from the Doctor. The Doctor grabbed her arm just in time, helping her straighten up. She yanked her arm away and walked up to Cassandra, rather being by her than the Doctor at that moment in time. All around them the infected people were emerging, for the first time out of their cells and in the outside world.

"What've you done?" He shouted.

"Gave the system a shot of adrenaline, just to wake 'em up. See ya!" She ran off, her little tattooed minion following. Danni took off after her, the Doctor looking between them and the nuns as the infected began approaching them.

"Don't touch them! Whatever you do, don't touch!" He shouted before following the others. Moments later the cells began sparking and the other patients began escaping. They paused by a staircase, staring out as every compartment opened in front of them.

"Oh, my God..." Cassandra breathed.

"What the hell have you done?" The Doctor snapped at her.

"It wasn't me!" She defended, she had only put a shot through the row they were at. This... this was something else.

"One touch and you get every disease in the world, and I want that body safe, Cassandra! We've gotta go down!" They were becoming increasingly surrounded by the infected people.

"But there's thousands of them!" Cassandra protested, scared.

"RUN!" He screamed, Cassandra screaming back as Danni grabbed her hand and began pulling her down the stairs, "Down! Down! Go down!"

"Why do they want us? We set them free!" Cassandra exclaimed as they ran down more and more flights of stairs.

"They just want to be touched. All their lives, they've never even seen another human, let alone being held. They don't understand they'll kill us all." Danni panted out.

"Keep going! Go down!" The Doctor shouted and they continued, dodging all the patients and finally making it to the bottom staircase, bursting through a small door and into the cellar. Cassandra immediately ran to the lift, pressing the button frantically.

"No, the lifts have closed down. That's the quarantine, nothing's moving." The Doctor told her. She backed up and began running in the other direction.

"This way!" She shouted and they followed her down the hallway, past a waste pipe that made Danni double glance. As they ran past a converging corridor, more infected people appeared, cutting off the tattooed man from the trio. He whimpered pitifully.

"Someone will touch him!" The Doctor shouted, pausing to go back for the man. Cassandra grabbed his arm.

"Leave him! He's just a clone thing, he's only got a half life. Come on!" She tried to tug him away.

"Mistress!" He called over, but his mistress was already running away. Danni grabbed the Doctor's arm.

"He'll be fine, he'll go down the waste pipe. Come on, we can't let her get away." She told him firmly before running after Cassandra.

"I'm sorry, I can't let her escape!" She heard the Doctor shout then his footsteps quickly caught up with her. Cassandra led them through a door covered by a plastic covering, the Doctor slamming the door shut behind them. As she ran towards another door to try the Doctor spotted the machine Cassandra used on Rose and the frame her skin used to hang on. She screamed as she saw another load of infected people coming towards them and slammed the door shut.

"We're trapped! What're we going to do?" She cried, terrified.

"Well, for starters, you're going to leave that body." He pointed upwards at the machine with his screwdriver, "That psychograft is banned on every civilised planet! You're compressing Rose to death." He snapped.

"But I've got nowhere to go. My original skin's dead."

"Not my problem. You can float as atoms in the air. Now, get out." They stared each other down for a moment as he pointed the screwdriver at her, "Give her back to me." Cassandra tensed and took a deep breath.

"You asked for it." A bright light shot out of Rose and zoomed straight to the Doctor, Rose stumbling disorientated. Danni moved forward to help her gain her bearings.

"Hey, I've got you." She whispered as Rose clung to her, looking around the room.

"Blimey, my head..." She muttered, "Danni?" Danni nodded.

"Hello." She told her with a bit of laugh, "Nice you remember me. She can't have done too much damage."

"Where'd she go...?"

"Where do you think?" Danni motioned to the Doctor, who was on the over side of the room, adjusting to his new persona.

"Oh, my. This is... different." He stated camply.

"Cassandra?"

"Goodness me, I'm a man. Yum. So many parts! And hardly used..." She wiggled around, smirking at the implications before gasping and almost dancing, "Ah.. ah! Two hearts! Oh, baby, I'm beating out a samba!"

"Get out of him." Rose demanded. Cassandra began running a hand down the Doctor's body.

"Ooh, he's slim. And a little bit foxy." She looked over at Rose knowingly, eyebrows raised, "You've thought so too. I've been inside your head..." Rose blushed slightly and looked away as Cassandra approached her, Danni smiling at her reaction. It was just too cute, "You've been looking... you like it." Before Rose could even begin to defend herself the infected people burst through the doors, heading towards them. Cassandra began hitting Rose on the arm frantically.

"What do we do? What would he do? The Doctor- what the hell would he do?!" Danni span and pointed to the ladder behind Cassandra's old frame.

"We've got to head up." She called to them, leading the way up. Rose was shoved roughly out of the way by Cassandra, who lept through the frame and began climbing up first.

"Out of the way, Blondie!" She snapped and Danni ran up to the ladder.

"If you don't take care of both of them Cassandra I'll make you go into one of the infected, and you don't want to look like that do you?" Danni snapped. Cassandra grumbled in agreement and Danni let Rose up next, following behind her.

"If you get out of the Doctor's body, he can think of something." Rose told her.

"Yap yap yap... God, it was tedious inside your head. Hormone City." Cassandra mumbled in reply.

"We're gonna die if-" Danni interrupted her with a scream as Matron Casp grabbed her by the ankle.

"Let go of me!" Danni shouted, shaking her leg to get rid of the cat.

"All our good work! All that healing!" She cried angrily, "The good name of the Sisterhood - you have destroyed everything!"

"Go and play with a ball of string." Cassandra called down, sounding bored.

"Everywhere - disease! This is the Human World. Sickness!" Danni could only watch as she suddenly began breaking out in boils, letting go of her ankle moments before she began falling down the shaft. Danni caught sight of the infected people climbing up behind them.

"Move!" She shouted, "They're coming." They reached the top of the ladder, bunching up as close as they could as Cassandra banged on some doors, trying to open them.

"Now what do we do?" She demanded.

"Use the sonic screwdriver." Rose replied. Cassandra pulled it out of his pocket, looking faintly disgusted at having to go through his jacket pocket.

"You mean this thing?" She asked, waving it between her thumb and forefinger.

"Yes, I mean that thing."

"Well, I don't know how! That Doctor's hidden away all his thoughts."

"Cassandra, go back into me. The Doctor can open it. Do it!"

"Hold on tight." Cassandra murmured before shooting back into Rose.

"Oh... oh, chavtastic again. Open it!" Cassandra shouted, now back in Rose. The Doctor just held the sonic screwdriver at her again.

"Not 'til you get out of her." He told her firmly.

"We need the Doctor." she exclaimed.

"I order you to leave her!" She lept back into the Doctor, Rose glaring at her.

"No matter how difficult the situation, there is no need to shout." Cassandra murmured.

"Cassandra..." Rose began.

"Oh we don't have time for this. Cassandra, go into me." Danni snapped over her.

"No, we need you too. You can help us get out as well." Rose told her and she shook her head.

"We need the Doctor to get out, he won't let her go into you and we both know he would rather her compress me to death." She looked up at Cassandra, "Go on, Cassandra, until we find something more appropriate." Cassandra rolled her eyes.

"Oh, fine!" She cried, jumping out a final time and into Danni, shaking her head slightly.

"Right, we all happy? Open the door." Cassandra snapped at the Doctor, who opened the doors and pulled Rose into the small corridor just behind it.

"Nice to have you back." He told her with a smile. The doors began closing and Cassandra climbed the last of the ladder quicker.

"No you don't..." She muttered before leaping into the lift just in time, rolling and landing against the wall. The Doctor sealed the door shut before turning back to the Danni-Cassandra mix.

"That was your last warning, Cassandra!" He warned her darkly, but she wasn't listening, instead she stared into space.

"Oh my, she's travelled so far. So far and she's so lonely." She whispered before looking up at the Doctor, "And you're so cruel." He blinked in shock, "Blaming her for interrupting your time together, when she really just wants to go home. Everytime you snap, she just wants to cry because she thought you'd understand." The Doctor stared down at her then held out his hand, helping her up. Almost as a residue reaction from Danni, she yanked her hand away as soon as she was up and turned away, staring straight ahead, "Ward 26 is behind that door, apparently. She's as good at shutting off her thoughts as you are." Rose took her friends hand, hoping she could at least see the gesture. When Cassandra had been in her head, she had heard everything he had said to Danni. She knew the Doctor didn't trust the ginger girl, but she did. Danni had been there when the old Doctor couldn't be, and for that she was grateful.

_~0~0~0~_

_What do you think? It seemed natural, if not a bit cliché for Cassandra to go into Danni, but don't worry, her self-sacrifice for Rose doesn't change the Doctor's mind about her. Although something happens between here and The Runaway Bride because he describes her as his best friend ;)_

_Review-wise, it's been amazing as usual, I'm grateful for every person who takes the time to review, or even just follow the story and I hope I can keep up with your expectations._

_Her being ginger actually has very little to do with it, she just doesn't understand why one Doctor is so nice and the other so horrid, so she's grasping at straws trying to find a reason :)_

_Hehe, I think hitting him might be a bit excessive, don't want to bruise the poor dear but I'm glad you're annoyed at him as well :)_

_And I'm actually enjoying writing 'complete and utter prat Doctor'. He's fun when he's angry :) I'll let you know that when he first meets her, he's more intrigued by her than anything, but that rapidly changes XD_


	16. The New New Humans

The Doctor opened the door and they all stepped into Ward 26, right by the Face of Boe. The people there stopped, startled, before Frau Clovis began charging at them with a chair, roaring almost like an animal.

"We're safe! We're safe! We're safe. We're clean! We're clean! Look, look-" The Doctor immediately shouted, showing him her hands. Rose and Cassandra copied the action.

"Show me your skin." Frau Clovis demanded and the continued doing so.

"Look! Clean. Look - if we'd been touched, we'd be dead." He pointed out and she nodded, putting the chair down, "So, how's it going up here? What's the status?"

"There's nothing but silence from the other wards. I think we're the only ones left." Frau Clovis told him, "And I've been trying to override the quarantine." She fiddled with a small device as she walked over to the giant window, "If I can trip a signal over to New New York, they can send a private executive squad."

"You can't do that. If they forced entry, they'd break quarantine." The Doctor replied.

"I am not dying in here." She snapped angrily.

"We can't let a single particle of disease get out - there is ten million people in that City, they'd all be at risk! Now, turn that off!" He shouted, pointing at the device menacingly.

"Not if it gets me out." She stated firmly

"All right, fine. So I have to stop you lot as well. Suits me. Rose, Cassandra, Novice Hame, Everyone! Excuse me your grace- get me intravenous solutions for every single disease. Move it!" He demanded as he ran over to the Duke of Manhattan, sonicing one of the winches from his bed off as everyone ran around, collecting every solution they could find. Cassandra and Rose helped to attach the solutions to a rope he wrapped around himself so they hung all over his body, "How's that? Will that do?" He asked and Cassandra frowned.

"I don't know! Will it do for what?" She asked back, but instead of replying he rushed over to the lift doors and opened them with his sonic screwdriver, revealing the empty shaft behind them.

"The lifts aren't working." Rose pointed out, looking down the shaft warily.

"Not moving. Different thing." He stepped back as far as he could, wrapping the winch around the top of his arm. "Here we go." He said, placing the screwdriver in his mouth before taking a running jump into the shaft.

"But you're not going to..." Cassandra exclaimed, trailing off as he grabbed onto the rope in the middle, suspending himself in mid-air.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked as he attached the winch to the rope with the screwdriver.

"I'm going down!" He told her. Cassandra rolled her eyes and leant against the wall as Rose looked at him, still concerned. The Danni girl had let her in on a few things about the Doctor, one thing being her was pretty reckless and spontaneous, but also very clever. Apparently he worked better without a plan.

"Come on!" He shouted, motioning to Rose who looked down the shaft again.

"What? You want me to go with you?" She asked incredulously, not about to risk falling down a huge shaft like that, even for him. She had already dangled from a rope in the middle of the Blitz, she really didn't want dangle off another one any time soon.

"I need another pair of hands. What do you think?" Rose looked back at Cassandra, smiling as she thought of a way out of it.

"I think you should take Dan- Cassandra with you." She stated, "Danni knows what to do, she'll be more use." Cassandra snorted derivatively.

"I'm not going down there." She protested.

"Danni knows things about the future, and she can let you know what's going to happen next." Rose told her firmly, "You need to go with him to help." She shot the Doctor a pointed look and he nodded reluctantly.

"If you're so desperate to stay alive... why don't you live a little?" They all looked to the side as more infected people emerged from the walls, heading slowly but purposefully towards them. Rose turned and dived back into the ward next to Frau Clovis, waving with a smirk on her face.

"Seal the door!" Frau Clovis shouted and the doors closed, leaving Cassandra only the option to go with the Doctor. She cried out as she ran towards him, her eyes closed as she jumped onto his back, wrapping her legs and arms around him.

"You're completely mad. I can see why she likes you." She told him with a smile. The Doctor looked back at her.

"Rose?" He asked hopefully and she tried to shrug.

"Well, yes, her as well." Cassandra replied. The Doctor turned back, focusing on anything but Danni.

"Going down!" He shouted before unclipping the winch. They began speeding down the shaft, both screaming as they did. Cassandra squeezed her eyes shut, burying her face into the Doctor's neck so she didn't have to see where she was heading. They landed with a thump on top of the lift, Cassandra jumping off him and straightening herself out.

"Well, that's one way to lose weight." She muttered.

"Now, listen - when I say so..." She held up her hand.

"I know, I know. Hold the lever down and don't let go." She muttered, "But I don't understand, there's still a quarantine down there, we can't-"

"Hold that lever!" He shouted and she backed away slightly, the Danni portion of her mind causing her to wince at his tone. She knelt down by the lever as he pulled off one of the packets of solution and flipped it with one hand, "I'm cooking up a cocktail. I know a bit about medicine myself." He began ripping the pouches open with his teeth, squirting each into a clear container on top of the lift. Cassandra moved back, slightly disgusted as he chucked the empty plastic near her as he went through the solutions, "Now, that lever's going to resist. But keep it in position." He told her as he opened the trapdoor on top of the lift leading inside, "Hold onto it with everything you've got."

"What about you?" Cassandra asked. He looked at her with a smirk.

"I've got an appointment. The Doctor is in." He winked then dropped into the lift. He pulled out his screwdriver and pointed it at the doors, opening them and alerting the infected people on the outside to his presence. They all started climbing off their seats and walking towards him, "I'm in here, come on!" He cried.

"Don't tell them!" Cassandra shouted down in disbelief, holding the lever as hard as Danni's body would allow. Quite frankly, the girl was a bit of a weakling and she didn't know if she could hold on for as long as he needed her to.

"Pull that lever!" He told her as the infected began entering the lift, "Come and get me, come on! I'm in here, come on!"

"Commence stage one – disinfection." The PA in the lift announced as the Doctor beckoned them forwards.

"Hurry up, come on!" The solution he had mixed began showering down, covering him and the infected, "Come on, come they wanna do is pass it on. Pass it on!" He cheered, jumping up and down.

"Pass on what? Pass on what?!" Cassandra shouted down but he ignored her.

"Pass it on!" The solution-covered people began to reach out towards their fellow experiments, passing on the solution and their good health. The Doctor turned and helped Cassandra jump down into the lift.

"What did they pass on? Did you kill them? All of them?" She asked. He shook his head with a grin.

"No. That's your way of doing things." He told her, stepping into the room as the now non-infected watched him in awe, "I'm the Doctor and I cured them." A small woman walked up to him, hugging someone for the first time in her life. He gently returned in as Cassandra stepped towards him, still wary of being touched, "That's right! Hey, hey! There we go, sweetheart! Ay? Look at him..." He ushered her away towards someone else, "Go on, that's it! That's it! It's a new sub-species, Cassandra!" He walked up to a bald man, taking him by the shoulders, "A brand new form of life! New Humans! Look at them, look!" He began pacing around, looking between them joyously, "Grown by cats... kept in the dark, fed by tubes..." He knelt by a blonde woman, "but completely, completely alive!" He crowed before turning and pointing at Cassandra, "You can't deny them, because you helped create them." She rolled her eyes, but her smirk dropped as she realised he was right, "The human race just keeps on going. Keeps on changing. Life will out! Ha!"

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor and Cassandra stepped into Ward 26, the Doctor now just in his shirt but still wet. Police were scattered around as they took statements and arrested the staff.

"All staff will present themselves to the officers for immediate arrest. I repeat - immediate arrest. All new life forms will be catalogued and taken into care." Novice Hame was led away in cuffs by a police officer. She caught the Doctor's eye and bowed her head in shame as he watched her leave, a stoic look on his face.

"The Face of Boe!" He suddenly exclaimed, causing Cassandra to jump as he ran towards the head and his companion in the corner of the ward. He managed to shrug on his jacket before Rose ran over and met him, hugging him tightly. He smiled widely as her nose wrinkling at the dampness of his clothes before moving warily towards Cassandra.

"Danni?" She asked and Cassandra shook her head.

"Not quite, Blondie." She replied, tapping her head. Rose frowned, why hadn't the Doctor got her out yet?

"You were supposed to be dying." The Doctor told the Face of Boe with a smile.

"_There are better things to do today. Dying can wait._" The Face of Boe projected into their minds, Rose looking around slightly for the voice before realising what he was doing and smiling.

"Oh, I hate telepathy." Cassandra groaned, "Just what I need, a head full of big face."

"Shh!" The Doctor scolded her and she rolled her eyes but fell silent.

"_I have grown tired with the universe, Doctor, but you and Danni have taught me to look at it anew._" The Face of Boe told him. The Doctor walked towards him, kneeling in front of his container.

"There are legends you know, saying that you're millions of years old." The Face of Boe shot them a telepathic laugh.

"_There are? That would be impossible._"

"Wouldn't it just?" The Doctor replied, "I got the impression there was something you wanted to tell me..."

"_A great secret._" The Face of Boe confirmed.

"So the legend says." The Doctor prompted.

"_It can wait._" He brushed off.

"Oh, does it have to?" The Doctor moaned, put out.

"_We shall meet again, Doctor,_" The Face of Boe told him, "_ for the third time... for the last time... and the truth shall be told. Until that day..._" And in a large beam of green light, speckled with stars, the Face of Boe teleported himself away.

"That is enigmatic." The Doctor nodded to himself, "That- that is - that is textbook enigmatic." He pondered on it for a moment then took a deep breath in through his teeth, slapped his hands on his thighs and stood up to face Cassandra. The Last Human examined Danni's nails as if she was disinterested in whatever he was about to say, "And now for you."

"But everything's happy. Everything's fine..." She straightened slightly, "Can't you just leave me?" she asked.

"You've lived long enough. Leave that body and end it, Cassandra." He demanded. She held her hand up to her face, starting to fake-cry.

"I don't want to die!" She sobbed.

"No one does." The Doctor replied.

"You don't even like her!" She protested, "Can't you just leave me in here?"

"He may not," Rose told her, "But I do, and I won't let you kill her Cassandra." She promised, stepping towards her. Cassandra, seeing the determination in the blonde's eyes, turned back to the Doctor.

"Help me!" She pleaded.

"I can't."

"Mistress!" Chip, her little minion, appeared, breathing heavily but looking utterly relieved as if he knew she was in Danni.

"Ah! You're alive!" She cried happily as he scuttled over to her.

"I kept myself safe. For you, mistress." Cassandra stared at him, contemplating.

"A body..." She whispered, "and not just that, a volunteer..."

"Don't you dare." Rose exclaimed, knowing exactly where her mind was heading.

"He's got a life of his own." The Doctor warned. Chip turned to him.

"But I worship the mistress!" He protested and Cassandra winked at him suggestively, it not sitting right on Danni's face, "I welcome her."

"You can't, Cassandra, you-" She ignored him, flinging herself out of Danni and into Chip. Danni gasped as her legs gave way, Rose reaching forward and catching her.

"I've got you." Rose told her and she blinked at Rose, confused as she tried to right herself. She stumbled, her legs like jelly and the Doctor had to help Rose hold her up.

"Whoa!" The Doctor whispered as she stared at him, dazed. Her brain really felt like it had been squished like a sponge then let go, her mind expanding back into the space Cassandra had been.

"Yeah..." She murmured as she found her bearings. The Doctor let her go but Rose held her tightly. Danni smiled at her, Rose returning it.

"Rose Tyler." She stated and Rose nodded.

"Welcome back." Rose replied. Danni stood up straight, brushing herself down as if trying to get rid of bits of Cassandra.

"Oh sweet lord, I'm a walking doodle!" Cassandra complained, now in Chip's body.

"You can't stay in there. I'm sorry, Cassandra, but that's not fair." She moved her hand so she could rest her chin on it, pouting, "I can take you to the City. They can build you a skin tank and you can stand trial for what you've done."

"Well, that would be rather dramatic. Possibly my finest hour. And certainly my finest hat." She tilted the hat perched on her head, Rose smiling slightly at the movement, "But I'm afraid we don't have time. Poor little Chip is only a half-life. And he's been through so much. His heart is racing so." She blinked in shock, "He's failing. I don't think he's going to last-" Her legs gave way and Rose and the Doctor rushed forward to support her.

"You all right?" The Doctor asked, Danni kneeling in front of them and taking one of the woman's hands, knowing what happened next.

"I'm fine." She told them, before pausing, a hand on her chest, "I'm dying. But that's fine." She squeezed Danni's hand, having seen inside her head she felt sorry for the ginger human, even as she was dying. Danni shot her a small smile, reaching to her side and taking Rose's hand in her other, reassuring the girl who looked upset. Rose clung to her right back.

"I can take you to the City." The Doctor told Cassandra, but she shook her head.

"No, you won't. Everything's new on this planet. There's no place for Chip and me anymore." She looked around, took a deep breath then turned back the Doctor, nodding to herself, "You're right, Doctor. It's time to die." She swallowed, pushing down the lump in her throat, "And that's good." She tried to push herself off the floor, the Doctor and Rose helping her up and Danni moving out of the way, letting go of her hand.

"Come on. There's one last thing I can do." The Doctor told her solemnly and they led her away to the TARDIS.

_~0~0~0~_

Danni hadn't gone out with them, having seen Cassandra die already and really not wanting to witness it first hand. No matter how often she was going to have to go through this, no matter how many people she would have to see die she doubted she would ever be able to stomach it. Instead, she went to get changed into the dress that the TARDIS had chosen for her, vowing never to wear trousers again. Maybe it was the pants that had made him angry, maybe he just wanted her in a dress. He had said he liked her bare-legged, after all, maybe later she would wear something where she didn't have to wear tights. She headed towards the console room, pausing when Rose's voice floated through the hallway she was in.

"You can't just chuck her out, she had no where else to go!" She snapped and Danni frowned before gasping; they were talking about her.

"She knew that Cassandra was there and that she would use the psychograft on you. She knew that there was a human farm under the hospital and she _never said a word_." The Doctor shouted back, "I don't want her here!" Danni held her hand to her mouth, leaning against the wall at his words. The TARDIS hummed behind her, as if trying to comfort her and she pressed her other hand against the machine, as if she was hugging her right back.

"Well, I do!" Rose snapped back, "And if you chuck her out, I'm going with her!" She smiled through her tears, touched by the blonde's fierce defence, "I never left when you regenerated, or when you told me about the Time War, or when you sent me back to Earth against my will but I will if you chuck her out!" There was a long pause.

"Fine!" The Doctor shouted angrily and Danni backed away as he stormed out of the console room and past her, glaring at her heavily as he did. She slowly walked to the console room where Rose was stood, breathing heavily but looking pained.

"I'm sorry." She told the blonde, whose head snapped towards her, "I don't want to be the cause of you two fighting." Rose smiled at her and held her hand out, grasping Danni's tightly.

"He comes around, you told me he does. He's just distrustful of people who know more than him." Danni nodded slightly, "You look much better in a dress." Rose told her, changing the topic. Danni laughed slightly as she looked down.

"It is more comfortable. It's like the TARDIS knew exactly what I would like."

"It's psychic, so that's probably true."

"She." Danni corrected lightly and Rose rolled her eyes.

"Yes, sorry, _she_ is psychic." She looked at Danni, taking in her sad stature, "Come with me." She began walking her away from the console room, towards the hallway.

"Where are we going?" Danni asked, letting the blonde girl drag her away.

"To cheer you up. When I was younger, when I was sad, my mum would have us watch a load of cheesy romantic comedies and eat tubs of ice cream. That's what you did for me when I first met you, now I'm returning the favour." Danni stared at her, confused and Rose took them towards the entertainment room she had sat in not that long ago with Martha.

"Can we watch Love Actually?" She asked and Rose laughed.

"Of course, it's your choice."

_~0~0~0~_

_I'm sorry for the slightly late update, I've been very busy and I hope you can forgive me :D I also hope Rose's reaction to the Doctor's behaviour towards Danni is believable, even if it is quite out of character. The problem with doing things in the wrong order is that it's a while before I can show you the reasons behind it. To Rose, though, Danni is very important and I just can't see her allowing the Doctor to just chuck her out of the TARDIS._

_I'm loving the reaction to the Doctor, it's just what I was hoping for :) A couple of the main reasons have been hinted at in each of the chapters, but that's all I'm letting you know :)_

_I'm glad you're loving the story so far, and thank you for saying it's one of your favourites, it really made my day :) I hope you continue to enjoy the rest :)_

_And don't worry about not reviewing so far, I'm just glad you took the time to read the story :)_


	17. The Comedic Twosome

Danni stood in the middle of what appeared to be a desert utterly confused and, for once, rather warm. The ground with lit up by the amazingly clear sky above her and she looked upwards and appreciated the spectacular view for a few moments before she scanned the area, spotting a small campsite being illuminated by a small fire. She headed towards it slowly, avoiding the sparse greenery easily.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?" She asked the man sat next to it and he turned to look at her, surprised for a moment before a smirk appeared on his face as he looked her up and down appreciatively.

"Just where you should be. With me." He told her, scooting over and patting the stool suggestively. Danni shook her head.

"No." She told him simply, "Who are you?" He held a hand to his chest exaggeratedly.

"I'm insulted you don't remember me, Danielle." He told her and she frowned.

"You've met me before?" Before he had time to answer the Doctor suddenly ran up to them, his 11th self, grinning happily as he spotted her. She flinched back slightly, expecting him to shout at her again.

"Danni-Girl!" He exclaimed, hugging her tightly before tilting her head and kissing her deeply. She froze, completely stunned, and he let her go with a smirk and sat next to the man. She blushed profoundly, glad that it was dark and no one could see her.

"More stew?" He asked as he pulled her down onto his lap. She sat there, perched on his knees, completely and utterly flabbergasted. What the _hell_ was going on?

"Where have you been, man?!" The man exclaimed, "Seven months! You were popping out for some liquorice! I had two very disappointed dancers on my hands! Not that I couldn't manage." The Doctor rolled his eyes then leant closer to him.

"Riddell." He started and Danni gasped happily.

"Riddell?" She turned to the Doctor, "Does that mean Neffy's in the TARDIS?" He nodded and she clapped, "Awesome!" He pecked her on the cheek.

"You know, you're adorable when you blush." He whispered and she flushed darker and he chuckled, "You're just becoming cuter and cuter." She batted at him.

"Stop it. Remember, missiles." She told him, trying to not only get him back on track, but to leave her alone. He jolted slightly under her and turned back to Riddell, who was watching them, amused.

"Riddell, listen, I've found...well," He motioned with his hands as he tried to figure out what to say, "something." He settled on.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. I shan't fall for that again."He took a bite of his stew and the two men regarded each other for a moment until Riddell couldn't resist anymore, "What is it?"

"I've no idea. Do you want to find out?"

_~0~0~0~_

Brian Williams stood on a ladder in his son's living room, frowning thoughtfully as he took the lightbulb from the fitting the ceiling. His son, Rory, held the ladder steady on one side as he shook the bulb next to his ear then handed it down to him.

"I think it's the fitting." He told his son.

"Dad, it's not the fitting, it just needs a new bulb." Rory insisted.

"You're wobbling the ladder." He pointed out and Rory moved back, holding his hands up.

"I'm not!"

"I don't want another loft incident." Rory looked offended as Amy popped her head from around the other side of the ladder.

"How's my side, Brian?" She asked and he looked down at her, a smile on his face.

"Perfect as ever, Amy."

"Thank you, Brian!" She looked at Rory, a smug smirk on her face as he silently mocked what she had been saying.

"I don't know what he said to you to make you marry him, but he's a lucky man." A large gust of wind began blowing inside the room, knocking paper everywhere as the whirring of the TARDIS faintly filled the room. Rory shook his head as he leant towards his wife.

"Not here! Not now!" He pleaded quietly.

"Did you leave the back door open?" Brian asked

"What is he doing?!" Rory whispered as Amy rolled her eyes angrily.

"I'm going to kill him!" She exclaimed as the TARDIS began to materialise around them.

"Hello! You weren't busy, were you?" The Doctor asked as he became solid, running around the controls and not paying attention to them, "Well, even if you were, it wasn't as interesting as this probably is. Didn't want you to miss it. Now, just a quick hop." Brian stared, utterly bewildered as Danni walked up to them.

"I am sorry, I did try and get him to ring first but he keeps kissing me." She whispered to Amy, "And it was very distracting." Amy shot her a confused look.

"He always kisses you." She told Danni, who looked at her shocked.

"He does?" Amy nodded.

"You two are always kissing. It gets quite embarrassing."

"We do?" Danni asked and Amy looked her up and down before her mouth fell open in a 'o' of realisation.

"But _you_ don't, do you? You're still an early Danni, aren't you?" Danni nodded, "Then why was it distracting?" Danni blushed and Amy laughed, "You like you, don't you?" Danni kept blushing and held her hands up to her cheeks, feeling the heat.

"Stop it! One minute he's shouting at me, the next he's kissing me! I've been like a tomato for the last ten minutes! I think he knows I've never kissed him before, so he keeps doing it!" Amy rubbed her hands together, so amused.

"Aww, young love." Danni groaned and held her head in her hands.

"Please stop it." She begged as Rory tore his attention from father for a moment.

"What's happened?" Amy shot Danni a faux dreamy look.

"Danni just kissed the Doctor for the very first time." She told him in an airy voice and Danni shook her head, not looking at either of them.

"Please stop it." Amy laughed and put her arm over her shoulder, taking pity on her.

"Okay, I'll stop it for now."

"Everybody grab a torch!" The Doctor told them, motioning to the open hatch on the console. The Doctor headed out first as Brian dropped the lightbulb he was still holding. Rory gently coaxed his father down as Amy grabbed them all a torch, handing him one. They stepped out after Riddell and Nefertiti, shining the lights on the area cautiously.

"Spiders." The Doctor stated as he examined a web in the corner of the room, "Don't normally get spiders in space." Brian turned to see the small exterior of the room they had just been in.

"What the...?" He exclaimed in shock, which the Doctor heard.

"Don't move!" He demanded before striding over to Brian, grabbing Danni and pushing her behind him. He shined his torch directly into the man's face, "D'you really think I'm that stupid I wouldn't notice? How did you get aboard? Transmat? Who sent you?" Rory walked over to him.

"Doctor…" He cleared his throat, "that's my dad." The Doctor blinked at Brian, calming down after this piece of news, then turned to Rory.

"Well, frankly, that's outrageous." He told him.

"What?"

"You think you can bring your dad along without asking? I'm not a taxi service, you know!"

"You materialised around us!" Rory exclaimed.

"I told you to ring ahead." Danni added in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, well," He turned to look at Danni, "that's fine then, my mistake." He turned back to Brian, "Hello, Brian, how are you?" He shook the man's hand, "Nice to meet you. Welcome, welcome!" He span around slowly, "This is the gang. I've got a gang – yes!" He grabbed Danni's hand and pulled her up against him, "It's nice to have a gang, although I never mind when it's just you and me." He kissed her quickly, and she blushed again. He pulled away with a smug smirk and winked at her, taking her hand, "Come on then, everyone!" He began walking away, taking Danni with him who was still perplexed at his behaviour.

"Tell him something, quick." Amy told her husband, motioning her head at Brian before jogging slightly to catch up with the Doctor and Danni.

"Yes, thank you!" Rory shouted after her.

"All right, where are we, and what is that noise? And hello! Ten months!" She exclaimed.

"Orbiting Earth - well, I say orbiting, more like pre-crashing on a spaceship - don't know, and hello, Pond." The Doctor rattled off, pulling her into hug, "Ten months, time flies." He pulled away and continued on, "Never really understood that phrase." He span on the spot and shined his torch on the two people following them, "This is Neffy, this is Riddell. They're with me."

"With you? They're with you, are they the new us? Is that why we haven't seen you?" She interrogated and the Doctor shook his head.

"No, they're just people. They're not Ponds! I thought we might need a gang, not really had a gang before, it's new." He shone his torch into Amy's face, causing her to squint, "Like Danni." Danni jabbed him with her finger.

"I knew you knew I hadn't been here long!" She exclaimed and he shrugged.

"What can I say, I can tell."

"Is that why you keep kissing me? To confuse me? Are you playing some elaborate joke on me?" She asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously, "Did I sometime in your past tell you I fancied you back home and now you're taking the piss?" He shook his head and cupped her cheek.

"No, I just really like kissing you." He placed a gentle kiss on her lips, "Your lips are absolutely delightful." He murmured before kissing her again, then stepping away as if nothing happened, leaving her slack-jawed and Amy trying to conceal a giggle. It was always funny to see Danni so out of her depth, most of the time she knew exactly what was going on and was always confident but sometimes she would have absolutely no idea and it was always better when she knew more than the time-jumping girl. Their attention was pulled from the argument as the sound of grinding gears came from behind a door in a wall, lights on either side coming on incrementally indicating a lift coming down to their level.

"It's coming down." The Doctor stated lowly as Nefertiti, Riddell, Brian and Rory joined them.  
"What is it?" Riddell asked.

"No idea."

"You know that movie, Snakes on a Plane?" Danni asked Amy, who nodded as the doors opened slowly, blinding them with a bright light, "Well, rather than Plane, think spaceship. And instead of snakes..." She trailed off as the two large creatures became visible in the light.

"Not possible!" Brian stated firmly and the Doctor opened his mouth a couple of times, not really knowing what to say.

"Run!" He settled on and the others began running away, Amy stopping as she saw Danni and the Doctor looking into the lift.

"Doctor! Danni!" Amy cried urgently, trying to get their attention.

"I know!" the Doctor replied joyfully.

"Dinosaurs!" Danni added, staring at the two armoured dinosaurs in delight.

"On a spaceship!" The Doctor cheered. Amy ran forward and grabbed his arm, pulling him and Danni away as the two beasts charged out. They quickly caught up with the rest of the group, Nefertiti leading the way, Brian, Rory and Riddell slightly behind.

"In here!" Nefertiti shouted, indicating to a small niche to the side. The Doctor slid across the dust-covered floor but Danni managed to pull him in just as the dinosaurs stomped up the corridor, pausing just outside their hiding place. Riddell pulled out a knife from his jacket pocket, flipping it in his hand once before grasping it tightly.

"I could take one of them, short blow, up into the throat." He whispered, eying the animals eagerly. Danni reached across and firmly pushed his wrist down.

"Or not." She whispered.

"We've just found dinosaurs, in space. We need to preserve them." The Doctor continued, eager to stop his overly blood thirsty friend.

"And who's going to preserve us?" Riddell countered. Amy shushed them and they all turned to watch the dinosaurs as they continued down the corridor, lazily swinging their tails and destroying the scenery around them. The Doctor shushed them again as he quietly crept back into the corridor, pushing Danni into Amy to stop her following until he deemed it safe and motioned them all out.

"OK, so, how? And whose ship?" Rory asked, counting off the questions on his fingers.

"There's so much to discover. Think how much wiser we'll be by the end of all this." The Doctor replied.

"Which means he has no idea." Danni translated and the Doctor shot her a mock-offended look.

"And you do?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yes, actually. But I'm not supposed to tell you. Anyway, where'd the fun be if I did?"

"Sorry. Sorry." Brian interrupted, "Are you saying dinosaurs are flying a spaceship?" The Doctor turned to the father, exasperated.

"Brian, please! That would be ridiculous. They're probably just passengers. Did I mention missiles?"

"Missiles?!" Rory and the Doctor both shushed him while Danni smiled sympathetically.

"Don't worry about it Mr Williams, the missiles as very secondary to the dinosaurs. I wouldn't pay them much thought." She reassured him.

"Anyway, six hours is a lifetime..." Danni rolled her eyes as he turned and chuckled slightly, nudging Brian, "not literally a lifetime, that's what we're trying to avoid. And we're all really clever!" Something caught his eye and he shone his torch into another room, "Let's see what we can find out. Come on." They walked purposefully into the room and up to the far wall, where the Doctor cleared some cobwebs off a panel. Rory and Brian stood either side of them and the Doctor pulled face and wiped a handful of webs onto Brian.

"Eugh!" He grimaced and Danni smacked him lightly on the arm.

"Stop being so rude!" She scolded him before reaching up and brushing the webs off of the man.

"How many dinosaurs do you think are on here?" Amy called over, having spotted a claw mark scored into the metal wall. The Doctor ignored her and used the sonic to turn the screen on, bringing up green and black writing and imagery.

"Oh, well done, whoever you are. Looking for engines." He commanded as he put his screwdriver back in his pocket, and the screen changed, "Thank you, computer. Look at that, different sections have different engines, but these look like the primary clusters." He explained, motioning to different parts of the ship on the blueprint, "Where are we now, computer? We need to get down to these engines..." He reached out to touch the engines in question on the screen but the four were teleported away, landing on a beach on a particularly grey day, "...and find out..." He trailed off, spinning on the spot in shock before grabbing Danni's hand in a vice-like grip, his eyes narrowing as he took in his surrounding.

"What?!" Rory exclaimed angrily.

"We're outside. We're on a beach." Brian stated, bewildered.

"It was a teleport." Danni said lowly and the Doctor stomped his feet.

"Oh, I hate teleports. Must have activated on my voice." He moaned and Brian turned to the Doctor.

"Ah, yes, well, thank you, Arthur C Clarke! Teleport, obviously, I mean, we're on a spaceship, with dinosaurs, why wouldn't there be a teleport? In fact why don't we just teleport now?!" He ranted before storming off, running his hands through his hair frustrated.

"Is he all right?" The Doctor asked Rory.

"He hates travelling." Rory explained, "Makes him anxious. He only goes to the paper shop and golf."

"What did you bring him for?" Rory glared at him.

"_I_ didn't! Why can't you just phone ahead, like any normal person?" Rory snapped as Brian walked back over.

"Somebody tell me where we are, now!" He demanded and the Doctor stuck his tongue out, holding it there for a moment before nodding.

"Well, it's not Earth. Doesn't taste right, too metallic." The Doctor replied as a bird screeched overhead.

"Is that a kestrel?" Brian asked and the Doctor looked at it before turning and grinning at him.

"I do hope so."

"I'd say we're still on the ship." Danni told the Doctor.

"What makes you say that?" He asked and she motioned down to the ground, where Rory was feeling the sand.

"The ground's humming, it tastes too metallic. I bet if you dug downwards you'd hit a metal floor." Rory stood back up.

"She's right. The beach is humming." He said and the Doctor crouched down, feeling the ground for himself, still not letting go of Danni's hand.

"Oh, yes!" He stood up and turned to the men, a slightly cross look on his face, "Right, well, you heard the girl, don't just stand there, you two, dig!" He wiped the sand off his hand on his trousers, "We're going to look at rocks. Love a rock." The pair began to walk off as Rory stared after them incredulously.

"Dig with what?" He shouted and the Doctor held up is hand, telling Rory he had no idea as Brian pulled a collapsible trowel from his pocket, displayed it to Rory proudly and set to work digging.

"Ah! Well!" He said to his son, almost smugly as Rory stared at him, bemused.

"Did you just have that on you?" He asked and Brian looked up at him.

"Of course! What sort of a man doesn't carry a trowel? Put it on your Christmas list." He ordered his soon before going back to his digging. Rory crouched down next to his dad.

"Dad, I'm 31. I don't have a Christmas list any more." The Doctor span and chucked both his and Danni's arms in the air.

"We do!" He shouted over before turning and heading over to the cliff face behind them where he had spotted a hatch.

"Computer in a cliff." He muttered, running his fingers over it, completely amazed. Danni nodded.

"Told you we were still on the ship." She replied in a sing-song voice and he grinned at her, placing a quick kiss on her lips.

"My clever Danni-Girl." He praised as he pulled out his screwdriver with one hand.

"You can let go, you know? I'm not going anywhere." She told him and he shook his head.

"A ship with a dodgy teleport? I'm not letting you get shot off somewhere I don't know. We have enough trouble with your manipulator." He replied firmly as he zapped the panel. She frowned at his fierce concern, it was disconcerting after the cold Doctor she had just dealt with, and Rory and Brian ran up to them.

"There's a floor under the beach." Brian told them as the Doctor opened the hatch with a flourish.

"See! Metal floor," he pointed to the ground, "screens in rocks." He tapped the screen three times, "Danni was right, it was just a short-range teleport. We're still on the ship." He told the two men excitedly.

"No. We're outside, on a beach." Brian replied firmly.

"No, it's part of the ship, Dad." Rory tried to explain, but his father just looked at him.

"Don't be ridiculous." Brian scolded.

"Well, it is quite ridiculous," the Doctor turned to Rory, "also brilliant. That's why the system teleported us here - I wanted the engines." He span around, letting go of Danni's hand and chucking his arms into the air, "This is the engine room! Hydro-generators." He shouted, admiring the beach/engine room.

"I have literally no idea what he's saying." Brian told his son.

"A spaceship powered by waves..." Rory started but Danni pressed a finger to his lips, smiling at Brian.

"Don't worry, no one ever does. It's part of his charm." She told him and he seemed to perk up slightly at this.

"Thank you..."

"Danni." She told him as he paused for her name and he nodded. The Doctor joined them again at the screen, placing one arm around Brian's shoulders and taking Danni's hand back in the other.

"Fabulously impossible! Oh, think of the things we could learn from this ship if we manage to stop it being blown to pieces."

"Plus, not dying." Danni muttered as she turned at a squark of a bird, seeing the pterodactyles flying closer, the loan creature having been joined by some of it's friends.

"Bad news is -" The Doctor continued unknowingly, "can't shut the wave systems down in time. Takes..." Danni tugged on his hand urgently and he turned around, eyes widening at the sight of the flying dinosaurs, "takes way too long." The two Williams men hadn't noticed, still studying the screen intently.

"If these are the engines, there must be a control room." Rory mused and the Doctor turned back around.

"Exactly. That's what we need to find." He moved in closer to the two men, " Now, what do we do about the things that aren't kestrels?" He whispered and the three turned around to join Danni staring up at the sky in shock.

"Oh, my Lord. Are those pterodactyls?" Brian breathed.

"Yes." The Doctor drawled, eyeing them worriedly, "On any other occasion, I'd be thrilled. Exposed on a beach, less than thrilled. We should be going." He began walking, Danni jogging slightly to keep up with him as he didn't seem to want to keep at her speed. Rory and Brian looked around, a bit bewildered.

"Where?" Brian asked.

"Definitely away from them!" Danni replied as he began to follow them.

"That's the plan?!" Rory exclaimed.

"That's the plan! Amendments welcome! Move away from the pterodactyls!" The creatures began to gather closer and closer together, getting ready to attack and Rory began picking up his pace.

"I think they might be noticing!" Rory cried.

"Amended plan – run!" The Doctor shouted at the foursome began heading along the cliff face, looking for a way out.

"Can't we just teleport or something?" Rory panted.

"No, local teleport's burned out on arrival." The Doctor explained, pointing at the cliff in front of them, "There's an opening in the cliffs over there!"

"Come on, run!" Rory told his dad, who was falling slightly behind.

"I'm trying!" Danni pulled out of the Doctor's grip to fall in line with the older man, smiling reassuringly at him and trying to keep an eye out on the bird-like creatures incase they decided the attack. One swooped at them and she pushed Rory just enough out of the way so that instead of nipping at his shoulder, it brushed slightly against her cheek. They manage to get inside the cave and the Doctor immediately turned to her, checking her face worriedly.

"Are you all right?" He asked and she nodded, batting his hand away as he stroked the tender area.

"I'm fine, honest. It barely touched me, it'll probably just bruise a bit. I've been dissected, this is nothing." she told him and he nodded.

"This is why you need to stay with me, okay?" He told her and she nodded.

"Of course, but I..." He took both her hands in his.

"No. You stay with me, no buts." He interrupted and she frowned angrily.

"Hang on, Spaceman. What happened to 'Why don't you just go home?'." He frowned at her but she shook her head, "This is not the time to do this. First, spaceship with dinosaurs about to be blown up, then we'll argue. What do we do now? There's no way back out there." She pointedly changed the topic and even though the Doctor obviously wasn't very happy with it, he followed her lead.

"Through the cave, come on." Before they could head anywhere, however, a loud steady thudding began echoing through the cave.

"That suggestion was a work in progress." He pointed out as he tried to work out what to do.

"We're trapped!" Brian panted.

"Yes, thanks for spelling it out." The Doctor murmured.

"Doctor, whatever's down there is coming this way." Rory added and the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Spelling it out is hereditary, wonderful!" He sarcastically said to himself.

"That sound's getting nearer!" The Doctor backed himself and Danni up into the two other men. Realising they had absolutely no where to go, and even though she knew what was coming wasn't a dinosaur, Danni grabbed the Doctor's hand again, shooting him an apologetic and slightly scared smile at him when he looked down at her. He squeezed her hand tightly, hoping to reassure her as two huge yellow robots appeared, sparking slightly as they blocked their path.

"We're very cross with you!" One stated and Danni giggled happily.

"Oh my god, it's Mitchell and Webb!" She cried out happily.

~0~0~0

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I wanted to completely bewilder Danni, and I think I did :)_

_Only a couple more people and I reach 100 followers! That's like... wow, that's just amazing. Thank you all so much! I don't really know what to do to commemorate the occasion, if you have any ideas let me know and I might just do one :)_

_Danni does go to Shakespeare, but not yet :) _

_Hehe, it does sound a bit suggestive, doesn't it? There's a reason for that, but maybe not the one you thing ;) I wish I could make it a never-ending story, but I think it's going to be rather long, if that's any consolation :)_

_Danni didn't unleash her 'Oncoming Storm'ness today, I'm afraid, but I hope the Doctor makes up for that. She does have her moments, though, give her time :_

_Rose meets Danni right at the beginning of her story, so I don't see her being threatened by her like you might think she would be, because Danni has always been there. The Doctor, however, really doesn't trust her for a number of reasons, but as you can see by this episode, that does change ;)  
_


	18. The Angry Murse

The Doctor, Danni, Rory and Brian were walked down a corridor by the two huge yellow robots who, if they had had faces, would have looked incredibly smug. Rory looked resigned on one side of the pair and Brian still looked out of his depth as Danni and the Doctor walked hand in hand, looking absolutely extatic that they had been captured.

"You're going straight on the naughty step!" One of the robots told them and Danni practically skipped on the spot at the voice; even that sounded the same.

"What's the escape plan?" Brian whispered out of the side of his mouth to the Doctor.

"Why do we want to escape?" The Doctor whispered in reply.

"They have us hostage."

"They're taking us somewhere. We might learn from it." Rory interjected and the Doctor grinned at him.

"Oh, you see?"He pinched Rory's cheek, despite the man's best efforts to get away, "So clever. I missed you, Rory!" He cried.

"Don't do that." Rory told him firmly.

"What if they kill us?" Brian asked.

"They wouldn't do that!" He turned around and patted one of the robots on the chest, "You're not going to kill us, are you, Rusty?"

"Who are you calling Rusty?!" The other one cried angrily.

"Yeah, don't call him Rusty!" Danni cried as well as she pointed to outraged robot, "That one's Mitchell and," She pointed to the other one, "That ones Webb." He looked at her, amused.

"Mitchell and Webb?" She nodded.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?"

"Seems odd to name a pair of robots Mitchell and Webb, when they're actually quite rusty."

"You try being on this ship for two millennia, see how YOUR paintwork does!" Mitchell exclaimed.

"Don't listen to him, he's just being mean cause we captured him." Webb tried to calm it down. The Doctor watched them argue, completely amused by the two robots as Brian looked around, checking the corridor out when he saw something that made him turn around in amazement.

"Oh, my goodness..." He breathed. Danni, the Doctor and Rory turned around, Rory jolting backwards in shock.

"Whoa." The Doctor and Danni grinned at the triceratops slowly approaching them.

"Ooh. Herbivore, Brian, don't panic. Triceratops. Ha! Beautiful." He bent down, slapped his hands on his thighs and opened his arms to coax it over.

"Shall I shoot it?" Webb asked.

"We're not supposed to shoot the creatures, stupid!" Mitchell scolded.

"Stop calling me stupid!" The triceratops roared quietly as it began sniffing Brian.

"'Rargh' yourself!" The Doctor replied as he began stroking it's nose, "Hello, cutie-pie. Who's a lovely Tricey then, eh? Yes, you are. Yes, you are." Danni joined him.

"Oh you are so gorgeous, you are." She told the beast, who was more preoccupied with Brian's trousers. She turned to the Doctor, "We need a pet aboard the TARDIS, don't we?" He nodded.

"Just what I was thinking."

"What do I do?! What do I do?!" Brian repeated, panicking as the dinosaur continued to sniff him, "What's it doing?!"

"You don't have any vegetable matter in your trousers, do you, Brian?" The Doctor asked.

"Only my balls." Danni snorted as Rory covered his face with his hand.

"I'm sorry?" The Doctor asked.

"Golf balls." He pulled two from his pocket and the Doctor smiled in relief, "Grassy residue."

"What're you carrying those around for?" Rory asked. Tricey roared then linked Brian on the face, leaving a saliva trail all the way down.

"Urgh! Eurgh! Argh!" He groaned while the Doctor and Danni smiled at the beast.

"Aw, bless."

"Get it away from me!" Brian cried.

"Throw one." Danni told him.

"Really?" she nodded as he looked at her from the corner of his eye, "Is this what you want? Is it?" He waved the golf ball slightly and seeing the triceratops reaction to the ball chucked it down the hallway. The triceratops span as quickly as it could and ran after it. The Doctor patted him on the back.

"And breathe out." He told the man, who did. He turned to the robots and clapped his hands together, "Right! Take us to your leader."

"Really?" Rory asked.

"Too good to resist." Danni replied and the Doctor kissed her knuckles with a grin before the continued down the corridor.

_~0~0~0~_

They were escorted to a much smaller ship in the centre of the larger ship around them. They were marched up to a gate made of criss-crossing bars of metal, covered in cobwebs like the rest of the ship, and the Doctor leant forward to try and get a better view of the rooms inside. Faint piano music floated in from the ship and the Doctor smiled at it.

"Love what you've done with the place down here." He told the robots.

"Let him in. Open the gate." A male voice commanded and one of the robots pressed a button on the wall, the gate opening. The Doctor stepped through first and the gate shut before anyone could follow. He span, alarmed and stormed up to it.

"Open it, now." He snarled at the robot, "Let Danni through."

"It's fine." She reassured him gently and he looked at her, still furious, "It's fine, I'm fine." He eyed the robots angrily but turned and walked into the other room. She frowned, confused at his reaction.

"He's not interested in _you_." Mitchell taunted and Rory turned to him.

"Look, you need to learn some manners." He snapped.

"No, _you_ need to learn some manners!" Rory walked up to him and pointed in it's face.

"No, _you_ do!"

"No, _you _do! Mr...Manners!" Webb taunted and Danni rolled her eyes as she tried to stick her head as far as she could though the gate. She wanted to hear what was happening and she couldn't if they were arguing. They weren't that far away, but boy did they mumble.

"You all do. Rory, stop pointing in Mitchell's face, and you two stop being mean to him. I'm trying to hear what's happening."

"You can't do that! You're not allowed to!" Mitchell whined.

"You said he wasn't interested in us, but we're interested in him and he didn't tell you we weren't allowed to be interested, so shhh!"

"How rude." Webb muttered.

"Can you hear anything?" Rory asked after a moment of silence and Danni shook her head, pulling back into the room. They were mumbling, how annoying.

"Not a thing. I know he's injured, one of the dinosaurs got his leg but I can't remember the specifics of the conversation. This was pretty new when I got sent here, I only saw it a couple of times."

"Saw it?" Brian asked.

"Yeah. She's from a universe where we're all on telly. It's complicated." Rory told his father.

"Oh of course. Why not? There's dinosaurs on a spaceship, there's teleports why wouldn't there be other universes?" A blue light flashed down over the three and Rory frowned.

"What was that?"

"It was a scanner, checking to see if we're worth anything." Danni bit out, Rory surprised by her sudden anger.

"Worth anything? We're not worth anything. Are we?" He asked and she shook her head.

"No, _we're _not." She replied.

"Injure the girl." The male voice stated again and before anyone could even look surprised, Webb shot Danni in the shoulder. She cried out in pain and fell to the floor, Rory immediately rushing to her side.

"Danni!" Both the Doctor and Rory cried as the Doctor appeared at the gate, rattling them.

"Open this _right now._" He commanded but the robots ignored him. Rory leant Danni against the wall as she struggled to breathe.

"I'm... I'm okay." She panted out, "It just bloody hurt." The Doctor stormed off, a look of fury etched into his face. Rory turned to the robots, pointing at them almost as angry as the Doctor had been. He did not appreciate anyone hurting his friends.

"I will take you apart cog by cog, and melt you down when all this is over."

"Oh, I'm so scared!" Mitchell said sarcastically before turning to Webb, "Actually, I might be. A little bit of oil just came out." Rory ripped the hole in the top of Danni's dress slightly to relieve the pressure.

"Stay still." He told her gently and she winced as he brushed against it, "It's just a burn, it's nothing serious." He pulled out a small black pouch from his pocket.

"What's that?" Brian asked, crouching down by his son to see him in action.

"Well, you carry a trowel, I carry a medpack. It's all about the pockets in our family." He pulled out a small white object, "This is an ice patch. It cools the skin." He explained to the pair of them.

"Never seen one of those." Brian stated.

"I look out for cool stuff wherever we go. Some people it's cars and hardware, for me it is nursing supplies." He placed the patch on her shoulder and she whimpered slightly. He pulled out a syringe.

"Now...painkiller. Now, this won't hurt."

"Don't you lie to me Rory Pond." Danni scolding him lightly and he jabbed the needle into her shoulder.

"Sorry. It won't hurt from now on, though. All right. You're done." He pulled out a safety pin and handed it to her, "This might hold your dress together, I know you're fond of them." she took it with a gentle smile.

"Thanks." He nodded and stood back up. He blinked then smiled as he saw his dad watching him proudly.

"S'all right. It's not everything I get to show off my awesome nursing skills." Rory's mobile started ringing and the robots looked around, confused. Danni pushed herself up, her shoulder feeling fine now, and stood next to him.

"What's that?" Mitchell asked.

"Your phone's ringing." Brian stated, just as confused, "In space!"

"You get used to it." He told his father before waving the phone at the robots, "I have to take this. The wife. Hello, Mrs." He answered the phone, Danni standing on her tiptoes so she could hear the whole conversation.

"Where are you?" Amy asked.

"Still on board. Met some pterodactyls and some rusty robots, that I'm going to _melt down_." He bit out, the robots actually seeming to be slightly scared, if they could feel scared. Danni wasn't sure.

"Rory, this is a Silurian ship." Amy interrupted him, "And they've all gone. Every single one." Rory looked down at Danni, frowning worriedly and she took the phone off him.

"Amy, I'm going to give you to the Doctor." She said firmly, "Just tell him exactly what you have found out and he'll let you know what to do, okay?" Without waiting for an answer she walked up to the gate and held out her arm, seeing the Doctor helping the man sit up off of his bed.

"Doctor?" He looked over at her voice and she waved the phone, "Amy."

"I need to take this." He told the man before walking over. He reached out to take the phone, but held onto her hand, stopping her for moving away, "Are you okay?" He asked lowly and she nodded.

"I'm fine. I have a brilliant murse."

"_Please_ stop calling me a murse." Rory pleaded and she shot him a grin.

"Now I know how much it annoys you, I never will." She replied and the Doctor shook his head with a smile, taking the phone off of Amy and walking to the side.

"Amy." He greeted and the three humans watched as he listened to Amy then eyed the injured man suspiciously.

"Where are they now?" He asked.

"I'll see you soon." He hung up on her and walked over, holding the phone out to Rory through the gate.

"Be ready." He whispered and Rory nodded. The Doctor walked back to the man, who was standing with a use of a cane. They all stood silently, watching the exchange between the two.

"The pain in my legs. It's gone. I can move them. Thank you, Doctor." The Doctor eyed him darkly.

"What did you do to the Silurians?" He asked.

"We ejected them." He replied simply, with no hint of remorse in his tone, "The robots woke them from cryo-sleep a handful at a time, and jettisoned them from the airlocks. We must have left a trail of dust and bone." The Doctor closed his eyes and shook his head, he had really hoped that it hadn't been the case.

"Because you wanted the dinosaurs." The Doctor summarised dejectedly and sat down, his anger building up inside of him and he pursed his lips, trying to calm himself down. Danni reached out slightly, wanting nothing more that to give him some comfort but not being able to began to bite her thumbnail instead.

"Their ship crossed my path. I sent out a distress signal. They let me board. But when I saw the cargo, things became more complex." He chuckled slightly.

"Piracy and then genocide."

"Very emotive words, Doctor." The man told him.

"Oh, I'm a very emotive man." The Doctor replied.

"The lizards wouldn't negotiate. I made them a generous offer." The man explained and the Doctor leant forward, glaring at him.

"The creatures on board this ship are not objects to be sold or traded." He snapped.

"I feel like you're judging me." the man taunted.

"You said Roxborne Peninsula, so why are you heading to Earth? You're on the wrong course." When he didn't reply the Doctor smirked darkly, "Oh. You don't know how. Ha! Brilliant. You couldn't change the pre-programmed course. Without instructions, the ship defaulted, returned home. Oh, dear. The Silurians outwitted you, even after you'd massacred them. So now you're a prisoner on the ship that you hijacked." The Doctor looked around, his gaze landing on Danni just for a moment. She smiled reassuringly at him and he nodded before turning back to him.

"Not now you're here. You're going to help me to where I want to go, Doctor." The man told the Doctor.

"Little bit of news, Solomon. You're being targeted by missiles." Solomon stared at him, trying to gauge whether he was lying or not, "Get off this ship..." The Doctor stood up, "while you still can." He turned and walked towards the gate.

"You think I believe that? You just want them for yourself. You won't profit from me, Doctor." Solomon called after him and the Doctor froze, his smug expression changing back to anger.

"Don't ever judge me by your standards." He snarled before he opened the gates with his screwdriver, stepping through clapping his hands, "Well, don't just stand there, Rory!" He grabbed Danni by the hand and pulled her past the two robots, "Hey, he wants to see you."

"Dad, come on!"

_~0~0~0~_

_What's this? Two updates in two days? Well, don't get used to it :P When I woke up this morning I had hit 100 followers! I wanted to thank all of you for this amazing milestone, so thank you! I also wanted to give you something, a reward as it were, but I didn't know what because I'm not very good at that sort of thing. So, as I'm sure people are dying for Danni to meet her, here's a bit of River :) I'll do reviews in the next chapter, but they're all amazing as usual so expect a long a/n XD_

"Yeah, there's a tiny problem. He hasn't met me yet." She replied before moving to head over to the Doctor. Danni stood up after her and River held her hand out, motioning for her to stop.

"Stay there." She told Dani firmly.

"Why?" Danni asked, confused.

"Because the shadows are eating people, now sit down." River scolded as if she was a child. Danni's eyes narrowed angrily as River continued over to the Doctor.

"I'm not a child!" She yelled over.

"Yes, you are." River replied softly.


	19. The Doctor's Queen

Rory and his father followed the Doctor and Danni through the corridors, only stopping when they came across the triceratops that had really like Brian. They skidded to a stop and the Doctor shot her a grin. Danni nodded with a grin of her own, knowing just where his thoughts were heading.

"What're we doing?!" Brian shouted and the Doctor kissed Danni on the head before running wildly towards the dinosaur.

"Just do exactly as I do!"

"Doctor, no!" Rory shouted after him as the Doctor ran up some stacked crates and jumped onto the back of the triceratops with a yell of 'Geronimo'. Danni laughed loudly and set off after him.

"Danni!" Rory scolded but she ignored him, running up the same crates and grabbing hold of the Doctor's outstretched arms. He pulled her up in front of him and wrapped his arms around her from behind tightly, burying his face in her hair. He then dipped her off the other side of the dinosaur, surprising her not only with the movement but with a deep kiss that left her open-mouthed and panting slightly. He pulled her back up then turned and waved the two men to join them. Rory jumped on behind the Doctor and Brian hoisted himself up after him.

"Go, Tricey! Run like the wind!" The Doctor shouted, pointing in the direction they wanted to go. The dinosaur roared but didn't move. Suddenly laser bolts began coming at them from either side and they all ducked out of the way, the Doctor covering Danni protectively from the fire as Mitchell and Webb caught up with them.

"How do you start a triceratops?!" He yelled, frustrated before karate-chopping it, hurting himself in the process.

"There they are." Mitchell called.

"I know! I saw them before you." Webb replied as they moved closer, continuing to shoot at them.

"Brian, your ball!" Danni shouted and Brian pulled out his remaining golf ball from his pocket.

"Tricey, fetch!" He chucked it down the hallway and the triceratops began chasing it's toy.

"Ha-ha! That-a-boy! Yee-hah!" The Doctor cried happily as they picked up speed, Danni laughing joyfully in front of him, "Come on, Tricey! Woo-hoo!"

"We _so _have to do this more often!" She cried and he nodded.

"Whatever you want!" He replied, "Come on, Tricey! Faster, baby!" The ball bounced of the wall in front of them and Tricey turned down the corridor after it, them losing the very slow robots following them.

"I'm riding a dinosaur! On a spaceship!" Brian exclaimed in disbelief.

"I know!" Rory replied.

"I only came round to fix your light!"

"Come on, Tricey!" The Doctor encouraged as they approached a dead end. Danni frowned in fear as Tricey didn't seem to want to stop, despite the huge metal wall in front of them.

"Where are the brakes?!" The Doctor cried, pulling at it's frill as he realised this as well.

"Whoa!" They all cried as they got neared and neared, until the dinosaur suddenly stopped and they all fell off, landing scattered on the floor. Tricey picked up the golf ball and trotted up to Rory, who lifted his head to look at the creature. It dropped the ball by his head and he sighed, resigned to the fact a dinosaur wanted to play fetch with him. They all slowly began to stand up, groaning in slight pair as they did and Tricey sat down patiently. The Doctor checked Danni over quickly, brushing her down as he did.

"Good, that worked! OK..." He began spinning around in a circle, "Where are we now? Ooh." He spotted a screen embedded in the wall, "Incoming message from Earth!" He ran over, waving his arms excitedly, "Hello, Earth! How are things?" The Indian Space Agency logo appeared, shortly followed by a woman in their uniform.

"Doctor, the ship's coming through the atmosphere. I have to start the missile program." The woman told him as Danni and Rory approached the screen. The Doctor's face dropped.

"No. No, no, no - don't do that, everything's under control here, turning round any moment. Need a bit of wriggle room on the timings..." He told her urgently.

"I can't do that." She replied.

"You can, of course you can. Tiny bit more time, Indira, please. This ship contains the most precious cargo..."

"My only responsibility is the Earth's safety. I'm launching the missiles. Goodbye, Doctor." She hung up the video call_._

"No Indira!" He smacked the screen, "Hey, come back! Please!" An alarm began sounding throughout the ship, indicating it picking up the missile threat.

"That's very bad indeed. Completely unhelpful." The Doctor began pacing worriedly as Rory looked at the screen.

"Doesn't this ship have any defence systems installed?" Danni shook her head.

"Good thinking, Rory!" The Doctor ran over and kissed Rory on the mouth.

"There isn't any. The Silurians saw no need for any." Danni told them. She turned to the screen, "Show weapons and defence systems." The screen flashed up 'No Systems Available' and the Doctor frowned at Rory.

"Getting my hopes up like that." The Doctor scolded him, slapping him on the face with each word.

"What ship doesn't have weapons?" Rory snapped.

"The ancient species, Rory - still full of hope." The Doctor replied.

"What about the control deck? You said we should go to the control deck next." Brian suggested and they all looked at him, the Doctor stalking away from the screen angrily.

"It's too late, it won't make any difference." He replied angrily.

"We could at least try." Rory exclaimed, storming up to him.

"It won't work, Rory. The missiles are locked on." the Doctor snapped.

"So, what? We're just giving up?" Rory asked him in disbelief. The Doctor looked away, shaking his head.

"I don't know." He admitted. They all stared at him and he looked between them, " ' ." He repeated more forcefully.

"Of course we're not giving up." Danni stated and they turned at her as she nodded to herself, "I don't care what you're going to do, Spaceman, but _I'm _going to save Tricey." She pointed over at the dinosaur as there was a flash of light and Solomon appeared between Mitchell and Webb.

"You were telling the truth, Doctor. Earth has launched missiles." The Doctor turned to face him, glaring at the man, "This vessel is too clumsy to outrun them, but I have my own ship."

"You won't get your precious cargo on board, though. It'll just be you," He pointed at Solomon as he slowly stepped towards him, "and your metal tantrum machines."

"We do not have tantrums!" Mitchell protested loudly, stamping it's huge metal feet.

"Shut up!" Solomon snapped. Using two canes he moved himself closer to the Doctor, "You're right, Doctor. I can't keep the dinosaurs and live myself. But I had the IV system scan the entire ship and it found two things even more valuable. Both utterly unique. I don't know where you found them or how you got them here, but I want them." He told him, a look of pure joy on his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The Doctor whispered.

"Earth Queen Nefertiti of Egypt." Solomon stated, "A face stamped across history." The Doctor's eyes narrowed.

"And the other?"

"The Time Child, Danielle Fielding." Danni blinked, surprised as the Doctor tensed, "The girl with the fixed point of time on her arm. Give them to me and I'll let the rest of you live." The Doctor leant in closer.

"Never." He spat.

"You think I won't punish those who get in my way? Whatever their worth?" He motioned with his head to Tricey and one of the robots stepped forward to shoot the beast.

"No!" Danni shouted, stepping forward, "I'm yours if you leave the dinosaurs alone." The Doctor span, looking both furious and terrified at the same time.

"No, Danni you can't..." She walked up and placed a finger on his lips.

"I have faith I'll be okay." She told him with a smile, "Not everyone has to die." He gripped her arm.

"You're not going with him." He snarled, "He'll take you away, sell you to the highest bidder." She forcefully removed his hand from her arm.

"Then you'd better come find me, Spaceman." She replied and walked over, immediately restrained by one of the robots as Solomon smirked triumphantly.

"You must be very proud." The Doctor told him.

"This is only one." Solomon pointed out, "Bring her to me. Or the robots will make their way through your corpses. Bring her now."

"No." The Doctor told him, hoping that if he didn't get Nefertiti then maybe he'd let Danni go. There was another flash of light and Amy, Nefertiti and Riddell appeared behind them, Riddell and Amy both carrying guns. The Doctor turned to look at them, slightly surprised.

"What are you doing?" The Doctor whispered to Nefertiti, who had a look of determination on her face. She began walking forward towards Solomon.

"I demanded to be brought here." She replied. The Doctor grabbed her on the arm.

"No, no, no, no - no way. Not you as well."

"It isn't your choice, Doctor. Like your queen, it's mine." They both looked at Danni, who shot them a smile and a wink, although she was actually rather scared. She knew the Doctor saved Nefertiti, but she didn't know if he'd be able to save _both _of them.

"Listen to me, if you go with him, I can't guarantee your safety." He told Nefertiti.

"You saved my people. I am in your debt."

"No. No debts, you don't owe me anything." He half-pleaded with her.

"Then I do it of my own will." She broke free of his grasp and pushed forwards towards Solomon.

"Neffy, Neffy, Neffy..." The Doctor urged, trying to get her to stop.

"No!" Riddell exclaimed, cocking his gun and pointing it at Solomon, "Take her, I shoot you." He swore. Nefertiti held out her arm behind her to keep him back.

"Put your weapon down. Let me make my choice."

"Do it, boy." Solomon taunted and one of the robots stepped forward. Riddell, realising he couldn't possibly win, lowered his gun in defeat. Solomon smiled and turned to Nefertiti.

"My bounty increases. And what an extraordinary bounty you are." He reached out to touch her, but she pushed his hand away.

"Never touch me." She spat out in disgust. He lifted his cane and pushed her against a pipe on the wall, the sharp edge of the cane pressed against her throat.

"I like my possessions to have spirit. It means I can have fun breaking them." Nefertiti pushed the cane away and he leant forward, "And I will break you in, with immense pleasure." He leered at her before turning to the Doctor, "Thank you, Doctor. Computer? Take us back to my ship." They all disappeared in a white light into the cockpit of Solomon's ship. He turned to the robots.

"Well, don't just stand there! Prepare for launch!"

"Okay, okay." Mitchell grumbled.

"No need to shout." Webb added and they began moving around the room as Solomon made his way to the controls. Danni moved to Nefertiti and placed a gentle hand on her arm.

"Don't worry, the Doctor will save us." She whispered and the Egyptian queen looked down at the smaller woman.

"Of course he will. A king does not abandon his queen, he will not let you go." Danni frowned.

"I'm not his queen. And don't let him hear you calling him a king, he'll never let it go."

"When I asked Amy, she said that you were his queen and that I 'should never think otherwise'." She quoted and Danni frowned.

"Well, she's wrong. The Doctor's only queen is his TARDIS."

"Then why is he fighting so hard to save you?"

~0~0~0~

Solomon smacked the console of his ship as it refused to take off from it's place in the middle of the Silurian ship. He fought with the controls as he tried to fly away, but the ship just protested as it was held down.

"Come on, come on. We're not moving." Solomon bit out as Nefertiti stood behind him, holding onto the back of his captain's chair. Metal made clanging noises around the ship as it creaked under the strain, "He's magnetised us. We can't move away!"

"Looks like we're not going anywhere after all." Danni called from her place at the rectangle table in the middle of the room, before leaning her head on her arms. The man and his two robots had been trying to get the ship to fly for at least half an hour, and with no progress ever going to be made Danni was getting bored. She never thought she could be bored while in mortal danger, she was wrong. Solomon glared at her as the ship rocked, trying and failing to get away. There was a flash of light and the Doctor finally appeared at the back of the room.

"Hello!" Danni looked up and grinned at him, "Having trouble leaving?" He pulled two wires out of the walls of the ship and pressed them into the two robots, frying their circuits.

"Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer..." Both began singing, slumping to the floor as they powered down. Solomon turned to face the Doctor, who patted one of the robots, his happy smile turning to a an angry frown.

"Ship's still magnetised, couldn't bear to lose you." He snapped, stepping forward towards him.

"Release my ship, Doctor," Solomon demanded, holding a small buzzing weapon up to Nefertiti's neck, "or I kill this precious little object." The Doctor and Solomon stared each other down, distracting them both long enough for Nefertiti to kick Solomon's cane from underneath him. He fell to the ground with a groan and she grabbed the cane, pressing the point of it against his neck.

"I am not your possession now, nor will I ever be. Now stay there." She told him, pushing it hard to emphasis her command. The Doctor walked over to him, bending at the waist and smirking at him.

"Don't mess with Egyptian queens, Solomon. I hope you've learnt that now. Danni-Girl, with me." Danni shot up out of her chair and rushed over to the Doctor, who began working on the ships controls.

"You took your time." She told him, "I was bored. Which was weird."

"Next time I'll try harder to entertain you."

"_Next time_ don't let go of my hand so I can't get teleported anywhere without you. We should make that a rule." He looked at her from the corner of his eye and laughed at the innocent smile on her face.

"What're you doing?!" Soloman demanded.

"Disabling this ship's signal and replacing it with the one from the Silurian ship. I send this craft off emitting the signal they're looking for, the missiles will follow." The Doctor explained, turning around and clapping his hands together, "Hopefully Silurian ship safe, dinosaurs safe, everybody safe." He looked at his watch, "Bit tight for time though, shouldn't really be chatting. Neffy, Danni-Girl, let's go." He and Danni headed for the door, Nefertiti only taking the cane off Solomon's neck at the last moment before leaving the ship. The Doctor paused at the end of the table and turned back to look down on the man on the floor, "How remiss of me, almost forgot - the thing about missiles, very literal, this is what they latch on to." He pulled a green flashing crystal out of his pocket and set it down. He then pulled out his screwdriver, "Now, one press on this and the ship's demagnetised."

"Doctor, whatever you want, I can get it for you, whatever object you desire." Solomon begged.

"Did the Silurians beg you to stop?" Danni snapped, "When you slaughtered them, did they plead with you to let them live?" The Doctor looked up at the computer screens, all indicating the threat heading swiftly towards the craft.

"Look, Solomon." The Doctor whispered, "The missiles. See them shine. See how valuable they are. And they're all yours." They both turned and walked out of the ship.

"You wouldn't leave me, Doctor..." The Doctor pressed the button to close the gate behind them then pressed the button on the sonic.

"You took my queen." The Doctor told him simply, Danni's head shooting up to look at him, startled, "Enjoy your bounty."

"DOCTOR!" Solomon screamed after them, but they didn't pay him any attention, getting a safe distance away before the ship took off in an attempt to outrun the missiles, running straight into their path and exploding into shrapnel in deep space.

~0~0~0~

The Doctor and Danni lead the way, hand in hand, through the corridors and back to the TARDIS. The Doctor span her around underneath his arm as they reached the blue box, causing her to giggle in surprise.

"So, dinosaur drop-off time." He called back to his 'gang' as he opened the door.

"Actually," Rory started, "we think home for us." The Doctor stopped in the doorway, his face falling at his words. Danni squeezed his hand reassuringly, the Ponds really were starting to drift farther and farther away.

"Oh." He turned back around, forcing a smile onto his face, "Fine. Of course."

"Not forever." Amy quickly reassured him, "Just a couple of months."

"Right, yes, I'm pretty busy anyway. I mean," He motioned to the TARDIS with his thumb, "I've got to drop everyone back." Brian stepped out from behind Amy and Rory, a hopeful look on his face.

"About that. Can I ask a favour? There's something I want to see." Rory, Amy and the Doctor looked at him in confusion while Danni just smiled brightly at his request.

"Oh..." The Doctor breathed.

~0~0~0~

Brian Williams, of Leadworth, stared out from the doorway of the TARDIS into the magnificentness of space and down at the planet Earth, seeing a sight that only a handful of people up until that point had seen. In one hand he held a sandwich, ham and a bit of butter, and in the other the lid of his thermos. He sipped at the tea happily as he just took in the beauty they were floating above. His son Rory, and his wife Amy moved to stand behind him, smiling down at the older man fondly before enjoying the view of their shared planet. The Doctor stood behind them, watching them for a moment as he thought upon the fact that he really didn't have long left with his two companions, his two friends, until he couldn't bear the thought any longer and walked away. He joined Danni at the console and at her concerned look he grinned.

"He's sat in your spot." He pointed out and her brows furrowed together, despite the smile on her face.

"I have a spot?" She enquired and he nodded, reaching over and stroking her hair gently.

"It's strange, me getting to tell you things. More often than not you always know what I'm going to do, or say, or end up." He replied, "But yes, you do. And it's where Brian is sat right now."

"No matter what happens." She told him, "Given the choice, if they could they would always spend their lives with you." He chuckled humourously.

"Always trying to cheer me up. That's my Danni-Girl." She shrugged.

"If this is my life now, then what other use do I have except to cheer you up?"

"Nothing I could mention in public." He replied cheekily and she smacked his arm.

"Oi! Watch it, Spaceman!" She warned and he pulled her in for a hug, holding her tightly even as she tried to get away. He laughed, properly this time, as she struggled, "Let me go! You can't just give me cheek and then hug me into submission!" She shouted into his chest, but he only loosen his grip, planting a kiss on her forehead.

~0~0~0~

The Doctor opened the TARDIS door, looking around then flinging it open.

"This! This is it!" He cried, stepping out onto the green wilderness outside. Danni followed and looked around. The area was surrounded by rocky mountains, all leading to the grassy area they were stood in, which had brightly coloured plants dotted about. She nodded in approval.

"I can totally see dinosaurs living here." She replied and he pulled her over to the side of the TARDIS before whistling, a finger from each hand in the corners of his mouth. There was a rumble from the TARDIS, it growing steadily louder until a mass of dinosaurs began charging out onto the planet, Pterodactyls flying out into the air as the parade continued. Danni watched them, delighted as the last ones trickled out, a couple of babies just not quite keeping up with their parents.

"What are we going to call it, though?" She asked, "I mean, you can't have a planet without a name." He nodded and he looked out across the land, deep in thought.

"Siluria." He said, rolling the 'r' as he tried it out, "Yes, I like that. We'll leave a note to whoever comes across here next." He stared out for a moment then grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the TARDIS.

"I have the best idea. We should go see the dust storms of Omega Franca. Named after the French team who first came across it, the French always wanting to make sure their work is kept separate from everyone else." She stopped before he entered, pulling them both to a halt.

"Doctor, wait." he turned around at her quiet demand, looking worried.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, "Did you not like the name?" She shook her head.

"No, I think it's fitting. You keep kissing me." She stated and he nodded, "And you keep holding my hand, and you get angry when you don't know that I'm okay."

"Yes, and?" He asked.

"I don't understand why." She told him bluntly, "The Rose-Doctor I was just with hated me! He was cruel, and he kept shouting. Even the Martha-Doctor wasn't anything like that. He just showed me the normal amount of concern that you show anyone, and now you're all over me. It's not like I don't like it, trust me I really _really _do but I... it's too much, I'm too confused! What the hell happens?!" She had begun shouting, her arms raised as she ranted, becoming increasingly worked up. The Doctor reached over as she started pacing backwards and forwards, grabbing her by the arms and forcing her to stop and look at him.

"Hey, hey. It's alright." he told her gently and she stared up, wide-eyed and biting her lip. He reached across and pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear, "I'm sorry. I was just having a little fun, I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm just having a hard time correlating it all in my head. The attitude jumps, they're mind-boggling." She whispered and he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I get it now. I'm sorry." He apologised again, "I'll be more careful in the future."

"You were touchy feely with the Silurians as well." She told him, "And for you, that was hundreds of years ago. Am I just some little bit on the side whenever I appear?" He shook his head.

"Never. Don't you ever think that." He told her firmly.

"But, that means in 300 years, you've just become more affectionate." She reasoned and he nodded, "But I bet you can't tell me why."

"Spoilers." He told her with a chuckle and she nodded.

"Will I enjoy finding out?"

"Oh, definitely." She nodded again, biting her lip. He reached up and pulled her lip from underneath her teeth, "Please don't do that." He told her.

"Why?"

"Spoilers." He repeated and she sighed.

"I already hate those words." He laughed outright at that.

"I know that feeling." She went to bite her lip again, but forced herself to stop. She reached up and rested a hand on his cheek.

"Can... Can I try something?" She whispered and he nodded.

"Sure." He paused, "What?" She stood on her tiptoes and placed her lips against his, closing her eyes as she did. His grip on her tightened involuntarily and she began moving her lips cautiously, as if testing to see if he responded. He did, and at the tentative touch of her tongue he opened his mouth. Her hands buried themselves into his hair and he moved his hands to rest on her hips, almost hoisting her up so she could reach better. When she pulled away, panting lightly, he rested his forehead on hers, eyes still closed.

"That was so... sexy." He settled on and she giggled slightly.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because it was so innocent." He leant down, "And the Danni I know is much more corrupt." He whispered into her ear, sending a shiver down her spine as his breath tickled her.

"I'll have to remember that." He chuckled and pulled back, holding her at arms length as he studied her.

"Since I did something for you," He started teasingly, "Can you do something for me?"

"Sure, but nothing naughty." She warned, then laughed at his mock pout.

"Do you know my name?" He asked her and she bit her lip, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

"It's the Doctor." She replied shakily and he shook his head.

"Not that. You once told me that you knew the name I was called at the Academy." She nodded slowly.

"It's not your real name, but it's the closest we as a universe ever got to it." She explained and he nodded.

"What is it?" She frowned.

"You don't know?" He laughed and shook his head.

"Of course _I _know. Tell me it." She looked around, still unsure about saying it, "It's alright, there's no one else here." He coaxed gently and she turned to face him.

"Theta." She whispered, "Theta Sigma." He placed a kiss on her forehead gently then grinned, letting go of her hips and grabbing her hand.

"So, Omega Franca!"

_~0~0~0~_

_So, how is everyone liking nice Doctor? I wonder how long that will last? ;)_

_I'm trying to spread the updates out a little bit, because I keep catching up to myself and I'm worried that there'll be too long a gap when I do, but I can't help myself XD_

_You've all been so amazing, here's me thinking it'd just be a little story on the interwebs and I'm getting reviews, and favourites and follows left, right and centre! I love receiving every single one have been saving all the emails in a little folder, and I look at them when I've not got much inspiration. So, thank you very much._

_Everyone seems to like my little sneak peak of River. It's not after this episode, there's a little mini-chapter after this and then, who knows? You think my River Song sneak was bad, wait til that XD_

_The robots do look like bumblebees, but I'm such a David Mitchell fan, I just squealed like a little girl XD_

_I'm here to confuse :P I can't really say when we get Grumpy Doctor again, but you'll probably want to kick him again ;)_

_Ahh, I can't tell you about Danni and River, you'll have to wait and see what happens there ;)_


	20. Meanwhile with Amelia Pond

Amy pulled her dressing gown around her tightly as she entered her living room, the sight of a figure on her sofa startling her enough to almost drop her cup of tea. She sighed in relief when she saw it was just Danni, her feet tucked underneath her as she watched early morning Saturday Morning cartoons.

"You scared me." Amy told her and Danni shrugged, not taking her eyes off the yellow sponge and his starfish friend as Amy sat next to her, sipping her drink.

"No Rory?" Danni asked without looking at her.

"He's at work. 12 hours shifts and all." Danni nodded vaguely and Amy thought about her husband, at work, saving lives of everyday people. No aliens, no monsters, just doing his job as a nurse, "Where's the Doctor?"

"I'm not sure." Danni replied, "I just asked him to drop me off. If I'm still here, he'll pick me up when I'm ready. If I disappear, you'll have to ring him. He said that'd be okay. He's nice like that." Amy frowned.

"Are you okay?" She asked and Danni shook her head.

"Not really, no." She admitted, "But I'm not too sure how to word it yet. I just needed someone to talk to and the Doctor said that we're close. That we'll become close, oh I don't know. He said you'd let me rant at you if I needed it." She sighed and rubbed her eyes in frustration, "I just need someone to pretend to listen for a few minutes then tell me that I'm an idiot. You seemed the right candidate for it." Amy shot her an annoyed look, then sighed. It was about right, really. In the beginning, Danni had let her rant at her, but as time went on it changed. The Danni she had been meeting lately seemed to be much younger than the original one, and she could only imagine what was running through her head.

"Fine, whenever you're ready." They sat watching the cartoons, the minutes ticking away until Danni sat up straight.

"All right." She started, "The Doctor kept kissing me, and it's freaking me out." Amy nodded. She remembered that; the dinosaurs on the spaceship. The Doctor's aim was a bit out, apparently, that had been a while ago now. The last time she had seen them, they'd gone to Mercy.

"I remember, you looked ready to faint." Danni nodded.

"Since we were with the dinosaurs we've been to Omega Franca, then to this little planet with the nicest ice cream I have ever had. Then we spent about a week going to a load of the Two Ronnies recording. Ronnie Barker was lovely to me. When we go back again, he said I could be in a sketch. Just as an extra, but that'll be fun." Danni rattled off, "The more time I spend with the Doctor, the more I like the attention he's giving me and that can't be right, can it? I mean, it's only been a month or so since I was shot here, and I'm enjoying it. And you know something Amy?" She shifted so she was sat sideways on the sofa, her legs crossed, "He loves me. He really, _really_ loves me." Amy nodded, confused.

"Well, yeah." She replied as if it was obvious.

"But how?" Danni exclaimed, "How the hell can he love me?! I've only been here a month!"

"Because, for him, it's been almost 300 years." Amy told her gently, "You've been in and out of his life for 300 years. He just lives to moments in between waiting for you to come back again."

"But why? Cause I do like it when he kisses me, and he holds my hand but I don't love him. I mean, I can't possibly love him." She spun back around and placed her head in her hands, rubbing her eyes before sitting back up. "Back in my universe, I've been a fan for seven years. I watched him every week, I read about him, I bought magazines and books and looked up more information online. I felt I knew him as much as I possibly could, but there seems to be so much more to learn. I fancied the pants of Matt Smith, you know? He was adorable, and I just wanted to run my hands through his hair it was so... Oh, he was lovely." She smiled dreamily, in the same way Amy suspected she looked when she thought of Johnny Depp. Ever after the siren and the Black Spot incident, she was a sucker for a pirate, "I dreamt about him landing in my back yard and flying me away. And then I was with him, and I don't know how to feel about it. You dream about it, you say to everyone that if it happened, if he turned up you'll be the first one in the TARDIS doors, but it's easy to say because it _never_ _will_." Amy studied her for a moment, hating to see her friend so torn.

"Do you enjoy it?" She asked and Danni nodded.

"It's amazingly terrifying." Danni replied.

"And you like it when he looks like you like you're his universe?" Danni smiled softly.

"Yeah, I do." Amy shrugged and leant back on the sofa.

"Well, then I say just live it moment to moment." Danni frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, when he's with you and he's lovely to you, enjoy it. When you go back to when he was a prat to you, be a prat right back. You constantly tell the Doctor you don't tell him anything about the future because it's no fun to know what's coming. So, live everyday like that. Until you settle and finally stop jumping, just enjoy it as it comes."

"But how do I do it without him feeling rejected?"

"Well, you've been to his past when he doesn't love you. Just think about what he does and do the exact opposite, I'm sure you'll be fine. If you don't love him, don't tell him you do. And if you're not ready for more, don't feel forced but if it's not hurting either of you, you should just go for it. You do love him in the end, but let it come at your own pace. Don't love him because you have to." Danni's brows furrowed as she stared back at Amy.

"When the hell did you become so smart?" Amy shrugged, looking smugly back.

"I've always been this smart." She replied, "Now, I'll get dressed and we'll go shopping." She stood up.

"But I don't have any money." Danni pointed out.

"Did the Doctor help you put your cardigan on?" She asked knowingly and Danni nodded.

"Yeah, why?" Amy reached down and pulled out a small credit card from the front pocket, a sticky note on it saying 'Have fun x'. Danni's mouth fell open slightly as she snatched it back off Amy.

"That's cheeky Time Lord." She laughed in disbelief.

~0~0~0~

Rory came back from work expecting his wife to be waiting for him, she was in between jobs again, but instead found a note that read 'Gone Shopping :)' perched by the phone in the kitchen. It was flashing, showing him there was a message and he pressed the play button as he moved to put the kettle on, wondering what to have for his tea.

"Hello Ponds!" The Doctor cried over the phone, "It's me! Look, I'm going to drop Danni off with you for a bit." The front door opened and Amy appeared ladened down with bags, "She's a bit sad, I think I may have scared her a bit. I know you'll help her Amy, just let her know that I didn't mean to. Then again, this may be terribly late and she's been and gone, in which case let me know so I'm not waiting for her to ring me to pick her up. Enjoy being Ponds, it's a wonderful life!" The phone beeped, letting them know it was the end of the message.

"Danni was here then?" Rory asked as he pulled another mug out of the cupboard for Amy. She sat down at the breakfast bar, placing all the bags on the floor around her.

"Yeah. She's still so new, she doesn't know how to handle him being so mad about her." Amy replied, "She'll get over it though. She always does."

"How long until they get together though, do you think?" Rory handed her a cup of tea and sat next to her.

"Not sure, but I don't think she had long until Utah."

"Did you warn her?" Rory asked and she shook her head.

"I can't, you know I can't." She blew on her drink gently, "I wish I could have, though. She deserves to know what's going to happen to her." Rory shrugged.

"I don't know. I don't think I'd want to know. Imagine knowing that was coming." Amy nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you're right. I just wish I could help her. That noise drives her mad, it's not fair." Rory placed an arm around his wife, pulling her in for a side-ways hug.

"How about we order a Chinese, watch some telly and just waste some time until the Doctor inevitably comes back?" She smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"Love you Mr Pond."

"Love you too Mrs Williams."

_~0~0~0~_

_It's a short chapter, I know, but I'm planning a few of these 'Meanwhiles...' through the story, not many but at least one per companion, so I hope I haven't let you down with it's length. Not much fluff either, but considering the Doctor wasn't in it I don't think I did too bad. Next chapter, business as usual I promise :)_

_Wow, last chapter was my most reviewed chapter, so thank you guys so much :D_

_Everybody wants to see the 9th Doctor, and we will soon, but not just yet ;) _

_Hehe, I'm such a troll, aren't I? And I think I may have trolled you even more here, it's what I do :p_

_I'm glad you think I'm doing Matt Smith justice, I hope I can pull off Tennant/Eccleston the same way, but that's for all you lovely readers to decide. And I didn't think you were being mean or anything, I like reviews that can help me improve :) I Googled span/spun and apparently span is still used in some dialects in Britain, which makes sense cause I'm from 'up t'north' and it's what we'd say 'round here. But, seeing that according to statistics a good portion of my readers are from the US, I'm going to use spun from now on and change what's up so far when I can be bothered. So, thank you :)_

_No, she doesn't go further back the 9, but that's because personally I'm really only a NuWho fan, and as such I don't think i could do it much justice._

_And don't worry, I'm planning on going as long as it takes to finish this story which, looking at what I've done and I've got to do, might be quite a long way away :)_


	21. The Vampires of Venice

The pub was full of men playing pool, darts and getting excessively drunk. They all wore red football-like jumpers, all sporting 'Rory's Stag' and various numbers depending on what time they'd turned up. Rory was on the phone, trying to talk to his wife-to-be, but it had gone straight to answer-phone.

"Hey...! It's me! Hello! How are you?" He asked, "The reason for this call is because I haven't told you for seven hours that I love you, which is a scandal, and even if we weren't getting married tomorrow, I'd ask you to marry me anyway." Behind him a giant cardboard cake was being wheeled in, his friends pointing and whispering gleefully at the cake and the unexpecting stag of the night, "Yes, I would, because you are smashing." One of then began nudging him and he turned around, his mouth dropping, "Oh... Oh. Oh, blimey. I've... I've... I-I-I... I'll see you tomorrow." 'The Stripper' began playing as the men all began chanting.

"Out! Out! Out!" They all stopped as a man with floppy hair and a bow tie popped out of the top. Everyone fell silent as Rory shook his head in disbelief at the Doctor, who looked around bemused before standing up fully and turning to see Rory staring back at him.

"Rory!" He exclaimed as someone finally turned off the music, "That's a relief. I thought I'd burst out of the wrong cake. Again." He turned to look at the crowd, "That reminds me, there's a girl outside in a bikini. Could someone let her in, give her a jumper? Lucy. Lovely girl. Diabetic," he whispered, "Now, then. Rory." He began clapping, "We need to talk about your fiancé." Rory smiled, motioning to the picture of him and Amy on his chest, "She tried to kiss me." The crowd gasped and Rory's face fell, "Tell you what, though. You're a lucky man - she's a great kisser." Someone dropped a glass and everyone stared at the Doctor, shocked and slightly annoyed at his timing. Realising what he said, he turned back to Rory, "Funny how you can say something in your head and it SOUNDS fine..." He was interrupted by Danni, who popped up out of the top of the cake next to him. She grinned at him.

"Hello!" She cried, "I appear to be in a cake, why am I in a cake?" She looked around and saw Rory, looking upset and obviously on his stag do. She waved at him, "Ha, it's Rory! Hello Rory, remember me? Oh, wait, have you even met me yet?" She frowned at the silence in the room, "Did he..." She pointed to the Doctor and Rory nodded. She rolled her eyes and hit him on the arm.

"Ow!" The Doctor cried, rubbing the area, "What was that for?"

"For your lack of tack!" He looked ready to protest, then nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, okay."

_~0~0~0~_

Danni sat on the pilot seat, watching Amy pace around the console, biting her nails nervously as Rory looked down through the clear floor at the Doctor. The Doctor was currently fixing... something, she wasn't sure what but there was a lot of sparks and mini-explosions going on around him as he dangled from a harness underneath the console.

"Why's he doing this?" Amy whispered to Danni, who smiled brightly.

"To save your relationship. And because you kissed him." Amy looked at her, alarmed.

"Look, about that..." Danni shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. I'll just kiss Rory, we'll be even and everything will go back to normal." Amy looked at her, surprised at her dismissal then narrowed her eyes at what she had suggested.

"Excuse me?" Danni smiled knowingly.

"See? That's why he's doing this." Amy continued to pace, but this time eyeing her suspiciously.

"Oh! The life out there, it dazzles." He explained, "I mean, it blinds you to the things that are important. I've seen it devour relationships and plans..." Something by him exploded, causing Rory to jump in surprise, "Ohhh! It's meant to do that." He told them, "...because for one person to have seen all that, to taste the glory and then go back, it WILL tear you apart." He told the bluntly, "So...I'm sending you somewhere. Together."

"Whoa! What, like a date?" Amy exclaimed.

"Anywhere you want, any time you want." He jumped off the harness,"One condition - it has to be amazing." He began walking up the stairs to join them around the console, "The Moulin Rouge in 1890! The first Olympic Games!" He grabbed Danni and pulled her off her chair, causing her to giggle in surprise as he dipped her.

"Can we go to Moulin Rouge even if they don't choose it?" She asked. He bopped her on her nose then spun her away.

"If you so wish, Danni-Girl." He told her before walking up to Rory, "Think of it as a wedding present, because, frankly, it's either this or tokens." He patted him on the arm as Rory stared, stunned, "It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" He headed up the stairs to the hallway into the TARDIS's main body, "Tiny box, huge room inside. What's that about? Let me explain."

"It's another dimension." Rory told him simply. The Doctor began walking down the stairs towards him.

"It's basically another dimen... What?" He paused half-way down, very confused.

"After Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories; FTL travel, parallel universes." Rory explained. The Doctor began walking towards him purposefully.

"I like the bit when someone says, 'It's bigger on the inside!' I always look forward to that." He stopped so their faces were almost touching, Rory surprised and slightly intimidated over how close he had actually gotten.

"It's bigger on the inside!" Danni cried from around the console, waving her arms excitedly. The Doctor pulled back from Rory and smiled at her.

"See? That's the best part!" He exclaimed.

"So," Amy drawled back, trying to get them back on track, "this date. I'm kind of done with running down corridors. What do you think, Rory?" She walked around the console, ending up right next to her fiancé. The Doctor smirked as he approached Danni, her turning to smile up at him.

"How about somewhere... romantic?" He leant over her, pressing her against the console. She blushed at the contact as he flicked a switch, setting the TARDIS in motion.

_~0~0~0~_

The TARDIS materialised in the middle of a busy marketplace and as the Doctor stepped out, no one paid any attention to him. He stopped in the front of door, opening his arms wide and stopping anyone else coming out.

"Venice!" He cried out joyfully before stepping forward, "Venezia! La Serenissima! Impossible city. Preposterous city!" Rory, Amy and Danni looked around amazed, "Founded by refugees running from Attila the Hun. It was just a collection of little wooden huts in the marsh, but became one of the most powerful cities in the world." He took Danni's hand and began walking through the market, "Constantly being invaded, constantly flooding... constantly... Just beautiful! Oh, you gotta love Venice. And so many people did. Byron, Napoleon, Casanova. Oooh, that reminds me." He paused and lifted up Danni's arm as he checked his watch, "1580. That's all right. Casanova doesn't get born for 145 years. Don't want to run into him. I owe him a chicken."

"Why?" Danni asked, "I've always wondered why you owe him a chicken."

"There was a card game involved. I'd rather not talk about it." He told her before walking off.

"You owe Casanova a chicken?" Rory called, still not able to get his head around it.

"Long story. We had a bet." The Doctor called back. A man dressed in black finery carrying a 16th century clipboard stepped out in front of the Doctor and Danni, stopping them in their tracks.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" He repeated, "Papers, if you please. Proof of residency, current bill of medical inspection." The Doctor took out his psychic paper out and showed it to the official-looking man with a pointed look at Rory and Amy.

"There you go, fella." The man took the paper, his eyes widening as he read it, "All to your satisfaction, I think you'll find." He looked between the crowd before bowing for the Doctor.

"I am so sorry, Your Holiness. I didn't realise." The Doctor made a vague cross-sign over the man, still looking a the couple with a proud look on his face.

"No worries. You were just doing your job." He turned to the man, "Sorry, what exactly is your job?"

"Checking for aliens, visitors from foreign lands what might bring the plague with them."

"Oh, that's nice See where you bring me?" Amy cried out as she slapped the Doctor's arm annoyed, "The plague!"

"Don't worry, Viscountess." He bowed for Amy and she sighed in relief, "No, we're under quarantine here, no-one comes in, no-one goes out, and all because of the grace and wisdom of our patron, Signora Rosanna Calvierri." He motioned to the crest on the clipboard with the psychic paper.

"How interesting. I heard the plague died out years ago." The Doctor pointed out, a frown on his face now he knew something was wrong.

"Not out there." The official pointed out across the canal, "No, Signora Calvierri has seen it with her own eyes. Streets are piled high with bodies, she said."

"Did she, now?" Rory took the paper off the official as the Doctor and Danni strode off, Amy following them.

"According to this, I am your eunuch!" Rory shouted angrily after them. Amy paused to look at him.

"Oh, yeah, I'll explain later." She told him before continuing on.

"Who was I?" Danni asked the Doctor, who looked down at her as they walked towards a very official looking building.

"Oh, er... I can't remember." He brushed off and her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Fine, I'll ask Rory, and he'll tell me." She replied.

"You were a princess. The princess of France." She smiled wildly.

"Aww, aren't you the sweetest Time Lord?" She crowed, kissing him on the cheek. He beamed as they reached the canal, leaning over the stone railings to look at the canal below. Amy and Rory joined them, Amy laughing as Danni's legs swung in the air comically. There appeared to be a procession of women across the room, all in white ornate dresses with grey veils. People had stopped what they were doing to watch them, showing it to be a common occurrence. The Doctor pushed himself up as a man ran over and started lifting the veils of the girls.

"What do you want?" The voice of the woman leading them barely made it over, but the man's was very clear.

"Where's my Isabella?" He cried, ignoring her protests as he continued to look under each veil, pausing as he appeared to find her, "It's me!" He told her as she backed away.

"We need to get over there." Danni whispered and the Doctor nodded, pulling her away as Amy and Rory watched on, oblivious.

_~0~0~0~_

The man from before walked down a passageway in the residential area of Venice, rubbing his head in frustration as the Doctor and Danni caught up with him, the Doctor jumping onto the bottom of a set of steps.

"Who were those girls?" He asked, startling the man who turned to look at the pair.

"I thought everyone knew about the Calvierri school." He replied, confused.

"It's our first day here." He replied, stepping down and walked closer to the man, "Parents do all sorts of things to get their children into good schools. They move house, they change religion." He leant in slightly as someone walked past, "So why are you trying to get her out?" He whispered.

"Something happens in there. Something magical, something evil. My own daughter didn't recognise me. And the girl who pushed me away, her face... like an animal." He told them, scared. The Doctor placed an arm around his shoulder.

"I think it's time I met this Signora Calvierri."

_~0~0~0~_

Danni and the Doctor watched the man, Guido, approach the guards standing outside the school purposefully.

"You have my daughter." He told them, sprinting to the locked gates behind them, "Isabella!"

"You're not coming in, stop there! We've told you..." One of the guards replied, blocking his way as the Doctor held up his finger to his lips and the pair snuck along the side of the building, right on the edge of the canal.

"You have my daughter. Isabella! I demand you let me see my daughter." Guido continued to provide a distraction as the Doctor soniced open another pair of gates, letting them into the grounds and up to a door.

"In here?" He asked and she nodded with a smile. He had been asking her what to do and where to go since they'd gone to Guido's to form the plan they had. She had been tempted to just tell him about the fish-people but then again he seemed so happy on the show when he found the 'vampire' girls she didn't want to take that away from him. And it was like Amy said, she should live in the moment. She had been trying, the last few times they'd been anywhere she just took it as all new. Although, in fairness, she hadn't recognised all the places Ten had taken here, and Eleven had taken her for ice cream again. This was the first time she'd been back in an episode for a while, actually...

The Doctor opened the door and they were greeted by a small, dark, stone stairway. The Doctor led her down them, holding his hand out for hers as they entered a small chamber with three wooden doors and a mirror. The Doctor caught his reflection in the mirror and walked up to it, checking out his reflected.

"Hello, handsome." He straightened his tie and then checked his teeth. Danni rolled her eyes.

"Yes, you're very pretty." She told him and he pulled her in front of him, just her head and her shoulders showing compared to his torso.

"Not as pretty as you." He replied and she blushed.

"Stop it." She scolded lightly, "Anyway, you really should turn around now." He frowned, looking at the reflection closely.

"Why?"

"Who are you?" A chorus asked from behind them. He turned around, startled and stared at the four girls in white clothing stood behind them. He looked back into the mirror, where they were not reflected, and back again.

"How are you doing that?" He asked, " I... am... loving it. You're like Houdini, only five scary girls, only he was shorter. Will be shorter. I'm rambling."

"I'll ask you again, signor. Who are you?" The girls asked in unison.

"Why don't you check _this_ out?" He pulled out a little black wallet, one he obviously thought was his psychic paper and showed it to them. Danni pulled his arm down.

"That's a library card, sweetie." She told him. He turned it and saw the picture of his first self staring back at him.

"Of course, it's with..." He motioned to his nose and Danni smacked his arm hard.

"Rude!" She scolded and he beamed at her.

"He's... I need a spare. Pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight and can't be seen in..." He looked at the mirror again, laughing happily before looking at Danni, "Are they?"

"Yep." She replied and he clapped happily.

"But the city. Why shut down the city? Unless..."

"Leave now, signor, or we shall call for the steward..." They smiled, all looking very creepy, "if you are lucky."

"Ooh!" The Doctor replied, a grin on his face as a shiver ran down his spine. They all bared their fangs and began hissing as they approached the pair.

"Yeah..." Danni drawled out, "We should leave now." He nodded, clearing his throat as they moved to the staircase. The Doctor suddenly jumped around and faced them.

"Tell me the whole plan." He demanded. Danni sighed at him, tugging on his arm. He turned to face her, "One day that will work." He told her as he pushed her up the stairs. He then turned back to the girls, "Listen, I would love to stay here. This whole thing..." He motioned to them, "I'm thrilled. Oh, this is Christmas!" He turned and ran up the stairs after Danni, "Is this why you didn't warn me before we landed?" She nodded.

"I thought you'd enjoy it. Romantic's boring." She replied and he laughed happily as they ran back down towards the canal.

"You are amazing!" He told her and she nodded.

"Yes, yes I am Spaceman." They shimmied along the wall again before running away hand in hand.

_~0~0~0~_

"Doctor!" Amy screeched as she met up with Danni and the Doctor at the canal side where they had been watching Guido earlier that day. She grabbed onto his arms while he grabbed onto her shoulders.

"We just met some vampires!" He exclaimed.

"We just saw a vampire!" Amy said at the same time as they both tried to explain what they had seen.

"...and creepy girls and everything." The Doctor concluded.

"Vampires!"

"In Venice!" Danni added happily. The Doctor grabbed Danni and they all jumped up and down together excitedly as Rory finally caught up with his girlfriend, panting.

"We think we just saw a vampire." He told the Doctor, who nodded and let go of Amy.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Amy was just telling me." He told Rory. Amy placed an arm around Danni.

"Yeah! Danni and the Doctor actually went to their house." Rory looked disappointed, obviously hoping he could tell the two time travellers something they didn't know and look impressive in front of Amy.

"Oh. Right. Well..."

"OK, so..." The Doctor slapped Rory on both cheeks, "first we need to get back in there somehow."

"What?!" Rory exclaimed, confused.

"How do we do that?" Amy asked.

"Back in where?!" Rory looked between the two, utterly confused. The Doctor clapped his hands together and began leading Amy off.

"Come and meet our new friend." Danni linked arms with Rory, following the other two.

"The Doctor wants to go back into the vampire's house so that he can find out why they're there and what they're up to and then, hopefully, stop them." She explained to Rory.

"How do you know that?" She tapped her head.

"I see the future, apparently. Didn't Amy ever tell you that?" He nodded.

"Yeah, but I thought she was making it up. She used to use it as an excuse to kiss The Doctor." He explained and Danni laughed.

"Oh, I like her. Let me guess, you never questioned it because you wanted her to kiss you?" Rory blushed slightly and Danni nudged him.

"Oh, come off it Mr Rory. You're marrying her tomorrow, you can't be blushing at wanting to kiss her or your wedding night's going to be pants."

_~0~0~0~_

Guido placed a map of Venice down on the wooden dining table in his home, pointing to the school so they all knew where it was. Amy, Danni and the Doctor stood around the map, while Rory sat on a pile of barrels in one corner, watching them all.

"As you saw, there's no clear way in." Guido told them, "The House of Calvierri is like a fortress. But there's a tunnel underneath it, with a ladder and shaft that leads up into the house." He drew the tunnel on the map with his finger, "I tried to get in once myself, but I hit a trapdoor."

"You need someone on the inside." Amy stated knowingly.

"No." The Doctor replied, not looking up from the map.

"You don't even know what I was going to say!" He turned to her.

"We pretend you're an applicant for the school to get you inside and tonight you come down and open the trapdoor to let us in." He went back to the map, licking his bottom lip in thought as he tried to come up with another option. Rory shook his head in disbelief, the thought of Amy even coming up with that idea seemed foreign to him.

"Oh." Amy stated, "So you know what I was going to say!"

"Are you insane?" Rory exclaimed as Amy sat on the table, facing away from him.

"We don't have another option."

"He said no, Amy. Listen to him." Rory urged.

"There is another option." Everyone looked over at Guido, who pointed at Rory, "I work at the Arsenale. We build the warships for the navy." The Doctor walked over as Rory pointed at himself, confused.

"Gunpowder." The Doctor stated as he sniffed the barrels. Rory tensed, eyes wide and the Doctor put a hand on Rory's shoulder, "Most people just nick stationery from where they work." Rory slowly slid off the barrels. and backed away into a dead rabbit hanging by the fireplace, scaring himself even more. Danni, feeling slightly sorry for him, moved over and rubbed his arm sympathetically. It wasn't too long ago she felt that out of her depth, her first adventure with the Doctor after realising this was actually real was terrifying. She shuddered at the thought of Lady Thaw's corpse; that image would never leave her.

"Look, I have a thing about guns and huge quantities of explosive." The Doctor pointed out. Guido slammed his fist against the table and stormed over to the fire.

"What do you suggest, then? We wait until they turn her into an animal?" He poked the fire angrily as Amy rocked on the spot, looking slightly smug.

"I'll be there three, four hours tops." Rory rolled his eyes angrily. The Doctor shot her a small smile, then scrunched his fists together, closing his eyes.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. It can't keep happening like this. This is how they go." He sat on Guido's bed, rubbing his eyes, "But I have to know." He admitted, "We go together. Say you're my daughter."

"What?! Don't listen to him!" Rory exclaimed angrily.

"Your daughter? You look about nine." Amy told him.

"Brother, then." She shook her head.

"Too weird. Fiancé." Rory stormed over, now finally have had enough.

"I'm not having him run around telling people he's your fiancé." He pointed at the Doctor. Amy nodded, looking slightly guilty.

"No. No, you're right." She stood up slowly.

"Thank you."

"I mean, they've already seen the Doctor. You should do it." She told Rory confidently, happy with her plan.

"Me?" He stuttered out.

"Yeah! You can be my brother." She rubbed his hair playfully and his face dropped. The Doctor smiled at them as Danni sat on the bed next to him.

"Why is him being your brother weird, but with me, it's OK?" Rory asked her.

"Actually, I thought you _were_ her fiancé." Guido said to the Doctor, who semi-glared at the man.

"Yeah, that's not helping."

"This whole thing is mental!" Rory shouted, "They're _vampires_, for God's sake."

"We hope."

"So if they're not vampires...?" Amy trailed off. Danni stretched and leant against the wall behind her, eyes shut.

"Fish." She stated. Everyone turned to look at her, confused.

"Fish?" The Doctor asked skeptically.

"Vampire fish." She confirmed before opening one eye to look at him, a smirk on her face, "Vampire fish, in Venice." she closed her eyes again, "I'll go too."

"What?" The Doctor asked, confused. She sat up straight again and motioned to Amy.

"With Amy. I'll go into the school, I mean we look like sisters." She explained and the Doctors eyes narrowed angrily.

"No," He stated firmly, "not a chance." Rory turned to him, outraged.

"Wait, so it's all right for Amy to go, but not Danni?" He exclaimed, chucking his hands up in frustration. The Doctor shook his head.

"If Danni jumps whilst they're in there then they will notice. If Amy draws too much attention to herself, they _will_ kill her." He pointed out, "I don't want Amy to go alone, but there's no other choice."

_~0~0~0~_

The town clock chimed seven as the Doctor and Danni sat on the back of a gondola, Rory in front of them. Guido, having switched clothes with Rory, pushed them along the canal.

"She'll be fine." The Doctor told Rory, who turned back to glare at him angrily.

"You can promise me that, can you?" He snapped in reply before turning back around. The Doctor grabbed Danni's hand tightly, trying to reassure himself that Amy would be alright, because he didn't know himself. She squeezed it back and he smiled at her slightly.

"I can." She told Rory, "I promise she will be fine." The Doctor kissed her gently on top of the head, but Rory didn't turn around. He did relax slightly, however, and that was enough for Danni to beam happily at his back.

_~0~0~0~_

They finally pulled up in front of a huge set of stone stairs, a metal gate in front of them. The Doctor, having acquired a lit torch from a wall they had passed stepped off first, followed by Danni and then Rory. He pushed the gate open and lead the pair through and up the stairs, Guido watching them from the gondola apprehensively.

"Right. OK," The Doctor whispered, "I'll go first. If anything happens to me, go back..."

"What happened?" Rory interrupted in the same hushed tones, "Between you and Amy? You said she kissed you." The Doctor stopped in front of some wooden steps leading to a wooden door. He looked alarmed at Danni. She just smiled at him, letting him know she already knew and he turned back to Rory.

"NOW?!" He exclaimed quietly, "You want to do this NOW?!" He grabbed Danni's hand and pulled her up the stairs.

"I have a right to know." Rory defended as he followed them through the door, "I'm getting married in 430 years." The door lead to a very dark, very narrow passageway. Rory pushed his way past Danni, so he could hear what the Doctor was saying.

"She was frightened," He explained, "_I_ was frightened, but we survived, and the relief of it... and so she kissed me." He explained.

"And you kissed her back?" Rory pressed.

"No." He snapped back, suddenly angry at Rory. He looked at Danni, his eyes pleading with her, "No, I didn't, I swear." He sighed, calming himself down, "Rory..." He stopped and turned to him, "Rory, she kissed me because I was there. It would have been you," He tapped him on the chest before carrying on, "it _should_ have been you."

"Yeah." Rory agreed, "It should have been you."

"Exactly. That's why I brought you here." A gust of wind suddenly blew down the tunnel, blowing out the torch and leaving them in complete darkness. Danni pushed up against the two men, reaching out and grabbing the first hand she came across. She smiled to herself at it squeezed back, telling her everything was alright. So it was the Doctor's, she had been right.

"Can we go and see the vampires now, please?" The Doctor whispered and she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips. He was such a child!

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor stood on Rory's shoulders as he pushed the grate above them open, before using Rory to climb high enough to get out of the hole first.

"Push..." He pulled himself out then reached in to pull Rory out, "Come on." He urged, pulling the man out before the pair reached in to grab Danni, who was lower down than they'd been expected, "There we are." He told Danni, who nodded, happy she was out of the dark, "Amy!" He called in a whisper, walking around trying to locate his friend, "Where's Amy? I can't see a thing."

"Just as well I brought this, then." Rory replied triumphantly, pulling out a small metal torch from inside his clothes. The Doctor, at the same time, pulled out a huge device, a purple bulb glowing brightly on it.

"Ultraviolet." He explained, "Portable sunlight."

"Perfect for vampire fish." Danni pointed out and he nodded. Rory stared at it, slack-jawed.

"Yours is bigger than mine." He stated. Danni giggled as the Doctor winked at her, then shook his head.

"Let's not go there." Rory nodded in agreement as the Doctor shone his torch around the courtyard they were in, it landing on a chest on one side. He headed straight towards it, Danni following. She yelled as she tripped, she guessed over her own feet, the manipulator burning on her arm. The Doctor spun around, and the last thing she saw was his alarmed look before she was whisked away.

_~0~0~0~_

_You know, I'm not as happy with this episode as I thought I would be, but I've edited it so many times that it was never going to get posted, so I'm sticking with it. The next story is better, I swear XD_

_A LOT of you want to see Nine, and I wasn't going to go for a while but you've twisted my arm, so I'm going to bring him in earlier with an episode I wasn't going to cover, so well do you clever things :)_

_I did feel that she needed to talk to someone, and I plan on her finding time to process things throughout the series, I just don't think we'd take it as well as you say you would when talking to your friends about the Doctor whisking you away. And I don't think I'd be too bothered if the Doctor snogged me either :P_

_I'm glad it makes you smile, every time I get a review I tell everyone I can I'm so happy :)_

_Ahh, I can't tell you about Nine, you'll just have to wait and see :P_

_For this story I was only planning Nine up to the end of the Ponds, because it's already 21 chapters and I've not even hit the first proper storyline thing I wanted to add, so if I added Clara/50th etc. it'd go on forever. And sequels, however *rubs hands together evilly*_

_I know, I'm not a good reviewer either XD I always think no one would care what I think, but now I'm writing I'm realising that it does matter, even if it's just a little couple of words so I am trying to be better about it. Your words made me really smile, so thank you for taking the time to tell me :)_

_And you've hit 100 reviews... Well, actually at the time of writing this it's 112 so I'm going to give you another snippet of the story, from quite a way away yet :P I think for every 100 reviews/follows I may do this, I don't know yet it depends how much I feel like teasing you XD Enjoy_

"If he is coming to 'save you', then why are you self-harming?" She stopped tapping, looking down at her bandaged arms, a small amount of blood staining the white fabric. Two very deep, evil marks were hidden underneath. She looked out of the window, up at the clear blue sky.

"If I am stuck here, if he's not coming to save me and this is real life..." her face hardened and she turned to the health practitioner sat in front of her, "Then I. Don't. Want. It." She told him with such conviction he blinked in surprise. She turned back to the window, watching and waiting, "Leave me alone."

"Danielle..."

"Leave me alone." The man stood and sighed in defeat.

"I'll come back in an hour to see if you're willing to talk." He left her room and she pulled her legs up to her chest, crying softly.

"Oh Spaceman, where are you?" She whispered.


	22. The Forest of the Dead

River Song pointed her sonic blaster a that the wall, creating a square hole and looking through it. The room was circular, a skylight in the ceiling letting in light directly on the centre of the room. She stepped in.

"OK, we've got a clear spot. In, in, in!" She motioned for the remaining members of their crew to enter the room, "Right in the centre, in the middle of the light, quickly! Don't let your shadows cross. Doctor..." She began as he ran to the other side of the room, scanning the shadows with his sonic screwdriver.

"I'm doing it." There was a flash of light and the occupants not used to Danni appearing screamed slightly as the ginger girl stumbled into existence, tripping over her own feet.

"Woah!" She cried, arms flailing to try and balance herself. River moved quickly towards her and caught her around the waist, helping her stand up.

"I've got you." She told her and Danni grinned widely.

"River Song!" She exclaimed, "Oh my god, I can't believe it!" She chucked her arms around River, squealing slightly. The woman chuckled and hugged her back just as tightly.

"Nice to see you too." Danni pulled back, looking up at the taller woman.

"I've always wanted to meet you. You're amazing." Danni told her excitedly.

"You've not met me yet either?" River frowned sadly. Danni shook her head and looked around, spotting Ten scanning as if she hadn't appeared.

"What's going on?" She asked, deflecting the question.

"We're in a library, and the shadows are trying to kill us." River explained before turning to the Doctor, "There's no lights here. Sunset's coming, we can't stay long. Have you found a live one?"

"Maybe, it's getting harder to tell." He smacked it against his hand angrily as the screwdriver refused to work properly, "What's wrong with you?" He hissed at it. Danni looked up at River.

"Quick question." River nodded.

"Yes, dear?"

"Does this Doctor still hate me, or am I all right?" River squeezed her arm reassuringly.

"He's just busy. We're gonna need a chicken leg. Who's got a chicken leg?" Almost reluctantly, one of the other members handed her something wrapped in tinfoil. She took it gratefully, "Thanks, Dave." She unwrapped it, moving cautiously towards the shadows before chucking it in. They watched as a bare bone landed on the ground, the meat having been stripped mid-air.

"OK... OK, we've got a hot one. Watch your feet." River warned, pushing Danni into the middle of the group and onto the floor.

"They won't attack until there's enough of them, but they've got our scent now, they're coming." The Doctor explained as he moved to examine another shadow.

"Who are you? Are you one of the people who disappeared all them years ago?" The other woman asked Danni, who shook her head.

"Oh no, I'm Danni. I'm with him." She pointed over her shoulder vaguely at the Doctor, "I'm just a bit late. It happens."

"Who is he? You haven't even told us. You just expect us to trust him." Dave asked River.

"He's the Doctor." River replied.

"And who is 'the Doctor'?" The other man asked.

"The only story you'll ever tell - if you survive him." River replied.

"You say he's your friend, but he doesn't even know who you are." The woman pointed out.

"Listen, all you need to know is this; I'd trust that man to the end of the universe. And actually, we've been."

"Do I go too?" Danni asked, trying to fish as much information she could. She had decided to try and learn as much as she possibly could, if she was going to keep jumping around she may as well try and plan ahead. River to looked at her with a slightly exasperated but also slightly proud look, as if she had been expecting her to ask.

"Yes you do, sweetie." Danni grinned widely.

"He doesn't act like he trusts you." The woman added and River glared at her slightly, not appreciating it being pointed out. She stood up.

"Yeah, there's a tiny problem. He hasn't met me yet." She replied before moving to head over to the Doctor. Danni stood up after her and River held her hand out, motioning for her to stop.

"Stay there." She told Dani firmly.

"Why?" Danni asked, confused.

"Because the shadows are eating people, now sit down." River scolded as if she was a child. Danni's eyes narrowed angrily as River continued over to the Doctor.

"I'm not a child!" She yelled over.

"Yes, you are." River replied softly before she leant over the Doctor.

"What's wrong with it?" She asked as he held the screwdriver up to his ear, trying to get it to work.

"There's a signal coming from somewhere, interfering with it." He explained.

"Then use the red settings." River replied as she pulled off her gloves. The Doctor looked at her, confused.

"It doesn't have a red setting."

"Well, use the dampers." She told him.

"It doesn't have dampers." He replied.

"It will do one day." She pulled out her own screwdriver and held it out to him. He took it off her as he stood up.

"So some time in the future, I just give you my screwdriver." He said slowly.

"Yeah." River replied with a smile.

"Why would I do that?" River laughed slightly.

"I didn't pluck it from your cold dead hands, if that's what you're worried about."

"And I know that because...?" He trailed off, obviously not believing her.

"Because I know it." Danni bounced on the spot between the two, smiling up at him, "Hello, by the way. I've been here a while, in case you didn't notice."

"I did." He promised, grabbing her hand. She smiled in surprise, she had expected him to shout at her. Her last trip with Ten hadn't gone so well but then she remembered the Ood Sphere. He had been lovely to her then, and with the Racnoss for that matter.

"I thought I told you to stay over there?" River asked her, a frown on her her face. Danni nodded.

"You did, then I remembered I'm 23 in a couple months." Danni replied. River shook her head then turned back to the Doctor.

"Listen to me." River told him, "You've lost your friend, you're angry, I understand. But you need to be less emotional, Doctor. Right now..."

"Less em..." He interrupted, "I'm not emotional!"

"There are six people in this room still alive, focus on that." She told him, exasperated, "Dear God, you're hard work young!"

**"**Young?" He exclaimed, "Who are you?!"

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" The man from across the room screamed, tired and scared, "Look at the pair of you! We're all gonna die right here, and you're just squabbling like an old married couple." The Doctor looked at him, horrified at the implication of his words. His grip tightened on Danni's hand and she yelled in pain, twisting her arm slightly to get out of his grip. He loosened it slightly, shooting her an apologetic smile.

"Doctor..." River started, calmer now, "one day I'm going to be someone that you trust completely, but I can't wait for you to find that out. So I'm going to prove it to you. And I'm sorry." She turned to Danni, "I'm really very sorry." She leant forward and whispered something in his ear, and when she settled back down on her heels he stared into the distance, stunned, "Are we good?" She asked but he didn't reply, "Doctor... are we good?"

"Yeah... Yeah, we're good." He told her with a nod, his mind reeling. She turned to Danni, who was just looking sadly at him, biting her lip. She didn't know what she had hoped for, really. And why did it matter if she was still his wife? It's not like he hadn't taken anyone else for ice cream on distant planets or anything. She wasn't allowed to be jealous. She nodded and shot a smile at River, who seemed very upset. She wasn't jealous, she was fine.

"Good." River whispered, taking her screwdriver back before walking back to the rest of the group. The Doctor continued starting into space, holding onto her hand tightly before looking down at the screwdriver still left in his grip. He let go of her hand and began pacing around the group.

"Know what's interesting about my screwdriver?" He asked, "Very hard to interfere with, practically nothing's strong enough... Well, some hairdryers, but I'm working on that. So there is a very strong signal coming from somewhere, and it wasn't there before, so what's new, what's changed?" The group looked at each other, confused. Danni sighed and pointed up.

"It's the moon." She stated, trying to force some emotion behind her voice but just feeling very... sad. He turned to her, noticing that she had just gone straight for the answer, and he knew she was right. She always liked letting people work stuff out, 'living in the moment' she called it.

"Moon rise..." They all followed his gaze upwards, "Tell me about the moon. What's there?"

"It's not real, it was built as part of the Library. It's just a doctor moon." The other man brushed off. Danni looked around, knowing all this and saw the woman looking down at the floor worriedly.

"What's a doctor moon?" The Doctor asked as Danni walked over to her.

"What's your name?" Danni asked her gently.

"Anita." She replied shakily.

"Hold my hand, Anita." She held her hand out and Anita took it, squeezing it tightly.

"A virus checker. It supports and maintains the main computer at the core of the planet." The Doctor turned on his screwdriver, pointing it upwards as he stepped into the middle of the room.

"Well, still active, it's signalling, look. Someone somewhere in this Library is alive and communicating with the moon, or, possibly alive and drying their hair." He held the screwdriver to his ear, "No, the signal's definitely coming from the moon. I'm blocking it, but it's trying to break through..." He fiddled with it for a moment before the light expanded, projecting Donna's image in front of them.

"Doctor!" River called, bringing his attention to the image.

"Donna!" The Doctor and Danni both cried, then the image disappeared. The Doctor ran over, trying to get her back, Danni still not leaving Anita's side.

"Doctor, that was your friend! Can you get her back? What was that?" River asked.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on. I'm trying to find the wavelength." He told her, holding the sonic up so her could spin through the settings, "Ah, I'm being blocked." Danni turned to Anita.

"Right, tell them now, okay?" Anita nodded once.

"Professor?" She called.

"Just a moment." River replied, not turning around.

"It's important. I have two shadows..." They all span around to see the two shadows pointing out of either side of her feet, Danni stood in the middle holding her hand.

"OK. Helmets on, everyone." River instructed, "Anita, I'll get yours." She ran over and grabbed the other helmet.

"It didn't do Proper Dave any good."

"Just keep it together, OK?"

"Keeping it together, I'm only crying. I'm about to die, it's not an overreaction." The Doctor and River approached them slowly, River putting the helmet on for her. She then, forcefully, moved Danni away from the shadows. Danni shrugged her off.

"Leave me alone, I'm fine." She snapped.

"We don't want you getting caught either." River muttered.

"Yeah, well, if I had been I'd be dead, so leave me alone." River winced at her tone, Danni not seeing it as she walked back over to stand by the Doctor.

"Hang on." The Doctor swept the sonic over the front of the helmet, tinting it black.

"Oh, God, they've got inside." River exclaimed.

"No, no, no, I just tinted her visor. Maybe they'll think they're already in there, leave her alone."

"D'you think they can be fooled like that?"

"Maybe. I don't know. It's a swarm, it's not like we chat." He replied.

"Can you still see in there?" Dave asked.

"Just about." Anita replied shakily, holding onto the last bit of hope she had.

"Just, just, just... stay back." He told the group, holding his arm out as they stepped away, "Professor, a quick word, please."

"What?" She asked. He took hold of Danni's hand again.

"Down here. You too Danni-Girl." The trio crouched down on the floor by Anita.

"What is it?" River asked as he began scanning the ground, pretending he was showing them something on the floor.

"Like you said, there are six people still alive in this room." He began.

"Yeah, so?"

"So..." He trailed off, motioning with his head. Danni glanced around and saw what he was motioning at.

"So, why are there seven?" She breathed. River's eyes went wide and they stood up slowly, looking behind them. The other two turned and all six froze at the new figure in the background.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" It called to them, it's skeletal face pushed against the visor of it's spacesuit.

"Run!" The Doctor screamed. They all tore out of the room as the figure chased them down.

_~0~0~0~_

The group, all but two in spacesuits, ran down huge corridors lined with books, all with glass walls and ceilings showing the expanse of buildings outside. The figure was following them at a steady pace, never quite catching them but never quite falling behind. The Doctor eventually skidded to a stop, motioning everyone past him.

"Professor, go ahead, find a safe spot." He commanded River, who stopped and turned to him.

"It's a carnivorous swarm in a suit, you can't reason with it!" She exclaimed. He looked at her and held his hand up, five fingers stretched out.

"Five minutes." He told her. Seeing he wasn't about to follow, she turned to Dave.

"Other Dave, stay with him, pull him out when he's too stupid to live. Danni, with me." Danni, who had stopped with the Doctor as he had been holding her hand, turned to her.

"Not bloody likely."

"I'm not arguing with you. With me." River bit out, now getting to the end of her tether. Why wouldn't she ever listen?

"Look, I don't know what your problem is." Danni told her, "And I have enough problems with this grumpy Time Lord here!" She motioned to the Doctor, "But I'm not leaving him. Now, find a safe spot Professor." River sighed angrily.

"Two minutes, Doctor." She warned him before following the rest, leaving just Danni, the Doctor and Dave as the figure arrived.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" The Doctor squeezed Danni's hand firmly, telling her to stay where she was before approaching the figure, hand out.

"You hear that? Those words? That is the very last thought of the man who wore that suit before you climbed inside it and stripped his flesh. That's a man's soul trapped inside a neural relay, going round and round forever. Now, if you don't have the decency to let him go, how about this? Use him. Talk to me. It's easy, neural relay. Just point and think. Use him, talk to me." He told them.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" The figure repeated.

"The Vashta Nerada live on all the worlds in this system, but you hunt in forests. What are you doing in a library?"

"We should go. Doctor!" Dave told him.

"In a minute. You came to the Library to hunt, why? Just tell me why?"

"We...did not." The figure stuttered out, obviously struggling.

"Oh, hello."

**"**We did not." It tried again, sounding more confident but unable to progress.

"Take it easy, you'll get the hang of it. Did not what?"

"We... did not... come... here." The Doctor stared back, confused.

"Well, of course you did, of course you came here."

"We come from here." It told him.

"From here?"

"We hatched here."

"But you hatch from trees, from spores in trees." The Doctor argued.

"These are our forests." The figure stated.

"You're nowhere near a forest, look around you."

"These are our forests." It repeated, trying to get the man to understand what it couldn't put across.

"You're not in a forest, you're in a library. There are no trees in a..." He paused, the realisation dawning on him, "library." he breathed.

"We should go. Doctor!" Dave told him.

"Books. You came in the books. Microspores in a million million books."

"We should go. Doctor!" Dave told him.

"We really have to go Doctor!" Danni cried, staring at Dave, terrified. The Doctor ran his hand through his hair as he turned to look out the window at the endless city scape.

"Oh, look at that. The forests of the Vashta Nerada, pulped and printed and bound. A million million books, hatching shadows."

"We should go. Doctor!" Dave told him.

"Doctor!" Danni cried and he tensed, turning around and staring at Dave. He moved over and stood in front of Danni, watching the neural relay blink on his suit. The visor suddenly became clear and a skeletal face fell onto the shield. Both figures began stepping closer, closing in on the pair.

"Oh Dave! Oh, Dave, I'm so sorry." He turned to Danni, "How's your upper body strength?"

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"Crap, you?" she replied with a scared laugh. He winked and pulled out his screwdriver.

"Do you trust me?" He asked in reply. She nodded.

"Implicitly." He nodded, wrapping an arm around her tightly.

"Hold on tight. Straight ahead" She nodded.

"We should go. Doctor!"

"Thing about me, I'm stupid, I talk too much, always babbling on, this gob doesn't stop for anything. Wanna know the only reason I'm still alive? Always stay near the door." He pointed the screwdriver at the floor, opening a trap door. Danni screamed as they fell through it, grabbing onto the first beam she saw, her arms jolting painfully. The Doctor was behind her and she struggled to move, but she slowly began making her way forward. They were at the end of the hallway, a wall directly in front of them with a window into the next room.

"Oh thank god!" She screamed, "Never again, you hear me Spaceman?" He laughed from behind her, the screwdriver in his mouth as she landed on the ledge, grasping onto the edges tightly. The Doctor squeezed on next to her and soniced the window open. They fell in rather than climbed, landing in a tangled mess on the other side. Danni panted, the adrenaline making her breath in short bursts.

"I hate you." She said simply from underneath him. He shook his head.

"No you don't." He panted back. They didn't move for a few moments, their hearts coming down from the near-death experience. He studied her close for a moment and her brow furrowed in confusion.

"What?" She asked. He leant down and placed a quick kiss on her lips, before jumping up.

"Come on!" He pulled her up and dragged her off as if nothing had happened. Danni blinked at him, confused.

"What?" She exclaimed.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor led Danni to a large, circular room where the remaining members of the archaeological team were waiting. They ran onto the platform overlooking the team, catching the end of their conversation.

"...I've seen whole armies turn and run away. And he'd just swagger off back to his TARDIS and open the doors with a snap of his fingers. The Doctor, in the TARDIS, next stop: everywhere." River was telling Anita. Danni watched as his features hardened, obviously not liking the idea that she was actually in his future.

"Spoilers!" He shouted, drawing their attention to the pair as he pulled Danni down the stairs, "Nobody can open a TARDIS by snapping their fingers. It doesn't work like that."

"It does for the Doctor." River told him firmly and Danni bit her lip as she studied to woman. She hadn't even thought about how hard this was going to be for her, his firsts were her lasts after all. And, she did have some experience being berated by a grumpy Time Lord.

"I am the Doctor." The Doctor snapped.

"Yeah. Some day." River scoffed. Danni tugged on his arm as she walked over to River.

"Actually, she does open like that. River's right." He looked down at her, surprised and she shrugged, "What? I'm not going to lie, am I? Try it when we get back." She teased him, grabbing River's hand. The Doctor's eyes narrowed, back to being angry again and he walked over to Anita, checking on her. Danni rolled her eyes at the drastic change in his mood before she turned to River, who was smiling softly.

"I'm sorry." Danni told her sincerely, "I don't mean to be cross at you." River squeezed her hand.

"I know, sweetie." River replied gently, "This is hard for the pair of us." She reached over and brushed a lock of ginger hair behind her ear, "I can't believe I see you so young." She whispered and Danni blushed, slightly uncomfortable, "I can't believe this is the last time I see you."

"You don't know that." Danni told her, "I'm more random than you are, you'll probably see me again." She lied, not wanting her to know what would happen to her today. She couldn't save River, no matter how much she wanted to. It was just too big a moment, and if Donna didn't come back what would become of the metacrisis?

"Where's Other Dave?" River asked the Doctor, breaking them out of their moment but not letting go of her hand.

"Not coming, sorry." The Doctor replied curtly.

"Well, if they've taken him, why haven't they gotten me yet?" Anita asked.

"I don't know." The Doctor admitted, looking down at Anita's two shadows, "Maybe tinting your visor's making a difference."

"It's making a difference all right. No-one's ever going to see my face again." She replied gently.

"Can I get you anything?"

"An old age would be nice. Anything you can do?" She asked hopefully.

"I'm all over it." He promised back.

"Doctor... When we first met you, you didn't trust Professor Song. And then she whispered a word in your ear, and you did. My life so far... I could do with a word like that. What did she say?" He paused, not replying and Danni walked over, knowing what was coming next, "Give a dead girl a break. Your secrets are safe with me."

"Safe..." He repeated, the word standing out to him. Danni nudged him.

"What?" Anita asked.

"You say safe." Danni told her gently, "You don't say saved, nobody says saved, you say safe." The Doctor turned to the other man.

"The data fragment! What did it say?"

"'4,022 people saved. No survivors.'" He repeated.

"Doctor?" River asked, seeing the Doctor had connected something. He began pacing.

"Nobody says saved, nutters say saved, you say safe. But you see, it didn't mean safe, it meant..." He trailed off and spun around to face them, hand grasping his hair, "it literally meant... saved!"

"The computer saved them." Danni confirmed and he grabbed her hand, dragging her over to an terminal. He brought up an image showing the computer's power usage around the time the 4,022 people disappeared. The image of a sphere glowed steadily until it exploded, going almost white until it all disappeared, leaving an empty circle behind. River watched, fascinated.

"See, there it is, right there! A hundred years ago, massive power surge, all the teleports going at once. Soon as the Vashta Nerada hit their hatching cycle, they attack. Someone hits the alarm, the computer tries to teleport everyone out."

"It tried to teleport 4,022 people?" River asked.

"Succeeded," He replied, "pulled 'em all out, but then what? Nowhere to send them, nowhere safe in the whole Library, Vashta Nerada growing in every shadow. 4,022 people all beamed up and nowhere to go. They're stuck in the system, waiting to be sent, like emails. So what's a computer to do? What does a computer always do?"

"It saved them." Danni and River said at the same time, both smiling widely. Danni leant on her shoulder and River wrapped her arm around her waist in reply, hugging her close. Danni felt almost giddy, her and River were going to be close in the future, she could feel it. The Doctor ran over to a table, pulling out a marker pen and pushing a pile of books out of the way. The other two joined them as he drew a circle on the table, a smaller one inside and coloured it in.

"The Library, a whole world of books, and right at the core, the biggest hard drive in history. The index to everything ever written, backup copies of every single book. The computer saved 4,022 people the only way a computer can. It saved them to the hard drive." Danni grinned.

"Donna's okay." She whispered and he nodded, relaxing slightly. She was okay. Donna Noble had been saved. Danni grinned and looked at Anita, at the two shadows protruding from her feet. Maybe she could find a way to save Anita. She followed the long stretch of the silhouette, one joining her shadow. She frowned, that wasn't right. She looked down at her feet and paled, her breath catching in her throat. Two shadows, one from each foot, stretched from underneath her, each an exact Danni-Girl shape.

She had two shadows.

_~0~0~0~_

_And we have River XD Hope I didn't disappoint, I'm trying to lay seeds of storylines in this episode, but what I won't tell you and you can't make me :P_

_Hehe I can tell you that Danni and the Doctor haven't gotten to that stage _yet_ but they will, don't you worry :P There first meeting has a very interesting start and is something I've already written, but doesn't happen for a little bit yet. And thanks for the tip, I hope it's better in this chapter, I think in editing them myself I sorta know who's saying what, so I'm trying harder to give it more clarity to you lovely readers who don't know what's going on inside my head :)_

_Hehe, glad you all enjoyed my little hint, I can't wait to get to that little story arc. And I'll answer any questions I don't think are too 'spoiler-y' :)_

_Danni'll really appreciate that hug, she doesn't have a great time in that particular episode, but it'll lead to lots and lots of Danni/Eleven so I think you'll like it :)_


	23. The Two Shadows

An alarm began ringing through the library, joined with stereotypical flashing red lights. Everyone began looking around, trying to work out what was happening while Danni stayed focused on the duplicate stretching from underneath her. She couldn't die here, she had still so much to do. Eleven was waiting for her, he loved her, how can he do that if she dies here? She shivered, because time can be rewritten. That thought alone filled her with dread; she couldn't lose him, not now.

"What is it? What's wrong?" The man barked. The Doctor and River ran over to the terminal, checking the screen, seeing the countdown for the library's auto destruct. River turned and frowned as Danni stood in the same place, she was normally first by the Doctor's side. Danni lifted her arm, watching the shadows move with it. Would the Vashta Nerada be able to eat through the Manipulator, with it being a fixed point, or would her arm hang there forever?

"What's maximum erasure?" River asked, turning back to the screen, her mind turning over all the possibilities of what Danni was doing.

"20 minutes, this planet's gonna crack like an egg." The Doctor replied. She gasped, but was becoming increasingly concerned about Danni. She shot her another look and Danni was stood there, oblivious to the commotion happening around her.

"No! No, it's all right, the doctor moon will stop it. It's programmed to protect CAL." The man explained calmly, trusting the moon to protect them but before anyone could reply, the screen on the terminal went blank.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor exclaimed, jumping onto the top of the terminal to fix it. River looked between him and, seeing he didn't need her, approached Danni slowly.

"Danni, what's wrong?" She asked. Danni's head shot up, a tear running down her cheek and she held her hand out to stop River in her tracks.

"Don't tell him. Please." She whispered, barely audible over the alarm.

"Don't tell him what?" River replied, confused.

"Promise, please." River nodded, panicking at her begging.

"Okay, I promise. What's wrong?"

"Look down." Danni told her pitifully and River looked at the floor, her eyes instantly drawn to the second shadow instantly.

"No." She breathed and Danni nodded slowly.

"I have two shadows." She stated, her voice cracking as she shook.

"No, no, not my... no." River stuttered, almost as pale as Danni. She looked over at the Doctor who hadn't noticed their interaction then back at Danni, "We have to tell him, he can help..."

"He can't." Danni replied firmly, "I'm still alive, and if he becomes emotional then we're doomed." River nodded, not liking it but agreeing. The Doctor would explode into a ball of rage if he knew Danni was in trouble. He might not have been _her _Doctor, but she knew that he wouldn't let her go lightly, whichever version he may have been.

"We have to save CAL." Danni stated, sounding more confident than she felt and drawing the Doctor's attention to her. They had to save the little girl. The Doctor looked at her, obviously sensing something was wrong as he regarded her and River, both looking devastated.

"What is it, what is CAL?" He asked.

"We need to get to the main computer, I'll show you." The other man told them.

"It's at the core of the planet." The Doctor replied, knowing they didn't have time to get there. Danni reached forward and poked River, making sure she didn't let the woman touch her shadow.

"That's your cue." She told her with a sad smile. River just stared at her, then nodded, determined and grabbed her hand.

"Well, then. Let's go!" She pulled Danni over to the middle of the room, pulling out her sonic and using it on a giant symbol on the floor. It opened up, revealing a huge blue tunnel, it pulsing with energy, "Gravity platform!" She explained to the confused ginger.

"I bet I like you." The Doctor told River, who nodded, trying to smile.

"Oh, you do!" The Doctor moved over, reaching to grab Danni's other hand when she flinched away, looking alarmed. He frowned at her.

"What's wrong?" He asked and she shot him an obviously fake confused look.

"Nothing, why?" She replied, stepping into the blue tunnel and onto a metal disc. He studied her for a moment, trying to work out what was wrong, before the all stepped onto the platform and it started to descend.

_~0~0~0~_

"Auto destruct in 15 minutes." The system told them as they reached the centre of the planet. The Doctor ran up to a burning core suspended in the ceiling, looking like a star. He looked at Danni again, he had been shooting her glances all the way down the tunnel, then up at the ball of flame.

"The Data Core! 4,000 living minds, trapped inside it." He told them all. River glanced up at it, then at Danni's second shadow.

"Yeah, well they won't be living much longer, we're running out of time." She told him, meaning more than just the countdown as the image of the second shadow burned its way into her minds eye. The Doctor nodded and ran off, deeper into planet, through hallways up to a computer terminal with two screens. The Doctor stood at one as River moved to the other.

_"_Help me. Please, help me." A little voice begged.

"What's that?" Anita asked as River tried to locate the voice.

"Was that a child?" River exclaimed, looking at Danni for an answer. The ginger girl nodded slowly and River's mouth fell open slightly. A child, in the centre of the library?!

"Computer's in sleep mode." The Doctor explained as he began typing on the console's keyboard, "I can't wake it up. I'm trying." Danni placed her hands on top of his, stilling his typing as she recalled what was happening to the little girl.

"Stop." She told him forcefully. He looked at her and she stared back, her look never wavering. She wanted him to stop, so he did. He turned back to the readings and tapped the touchscreen with one hand.

"Doctor, these readings!" River caught his attention as she typed and he nodded.

"I know, you'd think it was... dreaming." He settled on, perplexed.

"It is dreaming..." The man stated as he took off his gloves, "of a normal life, and a lovely Dad, and of every book ever written."

"Computers don't dream." Anita pointed out as he opened a door on the many cabinets on the wall, revealing some switches.

"Help me. Please help me." The voice pleaded again.

"No." He confirmed, "But little girls do." He pulled a switch down and a door slid open behind the Doctor. He ran off into it, the rest of the group following closely. The room was directly above a statue, one of the Node's Danni remembered with the faces on. It span slowly, revealing the face of a small girl, pleading them for help.

"Oh, my God!" River breathed.

"It's the little girl. The girl we saw in the computer." Anita stated.

"She's not in the computer. In a way, she is the computer. The main command node." he turned to the Doctor, "This is CAL."

**"**CAL is a child!" The Doctor exclaimed, outraged, " A child hooked up to a mainframe? Why didn't you tell me this?" He looked down at Danni, "I needed to know this!"

"Because she's family!" The man defended, turning back to face the Node "CAL... Charlotte Abigail Lux." Lux, that was his name. Danni bit her lip, she had been trying to remember it since she landed, "My grandfather's youngest daughter. She was dying, so he built her a library, and put her living mind inside, with a moon to watch over her, and all of human history to pass the time, any era to live in, any book to read. She loved books more than anything. He gave her them all." He turned to the Doctor, "He asked only that she be left in peace. A secret, not a freak show." A tear ran down his cheek as he looked at his aunt, the poor little girl trapped forever in a computer.

"So you weren't protecting a patent, you were protecting her." The Doctor replied in realisation, his anger calming down. He wasn't hiding information, he was hiding the little girl from anyone he thought would want to harm her.

"This is only half a life, of course. But it's for ever." He walked up and stroked the face gently, and she looked at his hand as if she could feel it.

"And then there the shadows invaded her dreams." Danni muttered, glancing down at her own double shadow. Her mum and dad would never know, would they? She disappeared only to be eaten by a _shadow._ They couldn't fold her away into her dreams, she was already there.

"Shadows. I have to... I have to save. Have to save..." The little girl interrupted.

"And she saved them." The Doctor whispered, "She saved everyone in the Library, folded them into her dreams and kept them safe."

"Then why didn't she tell us?" Anita asked.

"Because she's forgotten. She's got over 4,000 living minds chatting away inside her head, it must be like... being..."

"You?" Danni asked and he turned to her, smiling gently. She was biting her thumb nail, something he knew she did when she was nervous or upset. If he didn't think she'd flinch away again, he would've held her hand to stop her.

"Yes, me." River caught his eyes wandering downwards and stepped forward, grabbing his attention.

"So what do we do?" She asked.

"Auto destruct in ten minutes." The computer declared.

"Easy!" The Doctor shouted as he ran back into the other room and up to the terminal, "We beam all the people out of the data core, the computer will reset and stop the countdown." He frowned at the results as he typed on the keyboard, "Difficult, Charlotte doesn't have enough memory space left to make the transfer." He ran over to the wall and began pulling wires out, "Easy! I'll hook myself up to the computer and she can borrow my memory space!"

"No!" Danni shouted as she ran over with River, standing far enough away that the shadows didn't touch anyone. She knew he would be okay, she knew what River was going to do but her heart dropped just hearing him say it. He couldn't hook himself up to the computer, he just couldn't!

"Difficult!" River shouted, obviously agreeing, "It'll kill you stone dead!"

"Yeah, it's easy to criticise." He replied, sorting through the wires and not looking at either of them.

"It'll burn out both your hearts and don't think you'll regenerate!" River continued.

"I'll try my hardest not to die. Honestly, it's my main thing." He pulled out something else of the wall and began sonicing it.

"Doctor!" She urged.

"I'm right and this works!" He interrupted her, "Shut up. Now listen, you and Luxy-boy, back up to the main Library. Prime any data cells you can find for maximum download," He placed everything back into the wall, "and before you say anything else, Professor, can I just mention in passing as you're here, shut up!" He pointed both fingers at her before running back to the terminal. River turned to Danni, who just shrugged, not really knowing what to say. 'Oh, don't worry, he doesn't kill himself because you take his place?'. That'd go down _real_ well.

"I hate you sometimes!" She screamed as she ran over to Mr Lux.

"I know!" He replied.

"Mr Lux, with me!" She turned to the Doctor, "You'd better look after Danni! Anita, if he dies, I'll kill him!" River and Mr Lux ran out, leaving Danni, the Doctor and Anita in the room. Danni counted her shadows, still two, which was much more reassuring than scary now she thought about it. Two shadows meant that she was still okay, then she looked at Anita. She blinked and moved over to the Doctor apprehensively; she only had one.

"What about the Vashta Nerada?" Anita asked as he ran off from the terminal to yet another cupboard, flicking some switches before running past Danni to another cupboard, sonicing the contents inside.

"These are their forests. I'm gonna seal Charlotte inside her little world, take everybody else away. The shadows can swarm to their hearts' content." He replied.

"So you think they're just gonna let us go?"

"Best offer they're gonna get."

"You're gonna make 'em an offer?"

"They'd better take it, cause right now, I'm finding it very hard to make any kind of offer at all. You know what..." He ran over to the terminal then paused, turning to Anita, his gaze hard, "I really liked Anita. She was brave, even when she was crying, and she never gave in. And you ate her." He soniced the spacesuit's visor and Danni yelled slightly as a skull fell against the glass, **"**But I'm gonna let that pass. You know what I'm not going to let pass? Danni." Danni spun to looked at him, surprised, "She had two shadows, and I'm doing my best to stay calm. You will let her go and I will let it pass, or I'll take the whole planet down with me. Just as long as you let them pass, and you let her go."

"How long have you known?" The Vashta Nerada asked with Anita's voice.

"I counted the shadows. You only have one now." He walked up the spacesuit and his gaze turned her neural relay, "She's nearly gone. Be kind."

"These are our forests. We are not kind." It replied.

"I'm giving you back your forests, but you are giving me them. You are letting them go, and you are letting _her_ go." He walked back to the terminal.

"These are our forests. They are our meat." The suit raised an arm and shadows began stretching towards them, Danni's extra shadow expanding around her. She stepped back, trying to draw it away from the Doctor as he spun back around to face the suit.

"Don't play games with me!" He barked, eyes blazing as he stared the swarm down, "You just killed someone I liked, and you have someone I love. That is not a safe place to stand. Don't think I won't burn this planet to the ground for her, I've done it for less! I _will _take every single swarm down with me if you hurt her!" Danni stared at him, mouth open as he glared at the suit. He didn't even realise what he had said, he was just so angry. "I'm the Doctor, she's Danielle Fielding and you're in the biggest library in the universe. Look me up, and then look up what I will do to save her." There was a pause, then the shadows slowly began to withdraw as the Vashta Nerada looked them up. She almost sobbed in relief; he'd saved her, she was fine. With a sigh she stepped over to the Doctor, reaching for his arm but he yanked it away. She winced slightly as he refused to even look at her, furious she had tried to hide the extra shadow from him.

"You have one day." The Vashta Nerada declared and the suit collapsed as River came back in.

"Anita!" She breathed as she leant down by the suit, stroking it's helmet sadly.

"I'm sorry, she's been dead a while now." The Doctor explained shortly before turning to River, "I told you to go!"

"Lux can manage without me. But you can't." She stormed over, spinning him around and punching him. He flew into a column, sliding to the floor with a small thud. Danni walked over and looked over him as River panted slightly.

"Well, he's going to be as mad with you as he is with me now." She stated and River turned to her.

"Sorry." River stated before doing the same to Danni, knocking her out cold.

_~0~0~0~_

_Ahh, I was never going to really kill her off, was I? Not our wonderful Danni-Girl, what would the world be like without Danni/Eleven fluff? :P I just wanted to scare Ten, get a bit of Oncoming Storm coming out for Danni, just to confuse her a bit more. Rose's Ten hated her, but Donna's Ten doesn't does he? ;)_

_I have a question to ask of all you lovely readers. I have had a look through my overall plan for this story, and if I stay with roughly three chapter's per episode, then even before the original content I wanted to add, it's going to be like... 120 chapters, which is like HUGE! So, I was wondering if you think I should split it up, or leave it as one whole story? It would be three stories, each around 18-20 episodes long, all continuing from each other but sort of splitting up the different parts of the story. So, let me know what you think I should do. Just leave a review letting me know what you think, you don't even have to review the story although I would appreciate that as well :) I'm not going to decide just yet so you have until the end of the next episode to tell me what you think. Just to encourage you, that's going to be a Nine story :P_

_Speaking of reviews..._

_Reading everyone's reaction to Danni's second shadow was awesome :) Everyone's been like NOOOO, which makes me smile :)_

_I have watched Torchwood, but not for a while. I thought it was good, but not as good as Doctor Who, obviously :P Except for Children of Earth, I can't even talk about what they did to Jack in that :'(_

_I have plans for River. BIG plans, so stay tuned! Mwahaha XD_


	24. The Sacrifice

"Autodestruct in two minutes." The computer declared as River completed the finishing touches on the set-up she had created. She sat in a metal chair connected to the data core as the Doctor stirred from his place on the floor. He blinked as he looked around, scrambling up as he realised what she was doing.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, come on, what are you doing? That's my job!" The Doctor exclaimed angrily, and a little bit terrified. He clawed his way forward, his arm jarring as it was met with resistance.

"Oh, and I'm not allowed to have a career, I suppose?" River retorted with a laugh. He looked at his arm, connected to a metal column with a pair of handcuffs. Danni was leaning against the wall next to it, unconscious and attached the same way.

"Why am I handcuffed?" He asked, "Why do you even have handcuffs?"

"Spoilers!" She replied with a flirtatious smile, raising her eyebrows at him as she continued. Danni groaned slightly, coming around on the floor. She tugged her arm, rolling her eyes at the handcuffs.

"Handcuffs?" She turned to River, "Really, River?" River replied with the same smile, but didn't say a word. Danni laughed and pulled again. Yep, she was chained up with handcuffs. The Doctor looked between the two incredulously.

"This is not a joke!" He snapped as he turned to River, "Stop this now, this is gonna kill you! I'd have a chance, you don't have any."

"You wouldn't have a chance, and neither do I!" She shouted in returned and the Doctor's eyes widened as he realised she knew exactly what she was doing, "I'm timing it for the end of the countdown, there'll be a blip in the command flow. That way it should improve our chances of a clean download."

"River! Please! No!" He begged.

"Funny thing is, this means you've always known how I was going to die, you both have." She started slowly, tears in her voice, "All the time we've been together, you knew I was coming here. The last time I saw you, the real you, the future you, I mean - you turned up on my doorstep, with a new haircut and a suit, and in a beautiful dress. You took me to Darillium to see the singing towers. Oh, what a night that was!" She sighed, smiling at the memories, "The towers sang, the pair of you danced and then you cried."

"Autodestuct in one minute." The computer declared.

"You wouldn't tell me why, but I suppose you knew it was time. My time. Time to come to the Library. You even gave me your screwdriver - that should've been a clue." She laughed slightly as the Doctor spotted both sonic screwdrivers on the floor in front of them, on top of River's diary with her sonic blaster. He began scrambling for them, but they were just a bit too far away, "There's nothing you can do."

"You can let me do this!" He screamed, not wanting anyone else to die. Everyone always died, and it was always his fault!

"If you die here, it'll mean I've never met you." River explained, "And where does that leave Danni?" He turned to looked at the ginger girl, who he realised hadn't said a word, just sat back crying silently.

"Time can be rewritten." He stuttered out, for the first time unsure if switching places was a good idea. What _would_ happen to Danni if he died?

**"**Not those times. Not one line! Don't you dare!" River snapped ferociously. There was a pause as she caught her breath, smiling weakly at them, "It's OK. It's OK, it's not over for you. You'll see me again. You've got all of that to come." She whispered reassuringly, "You and me and Danni, time and space. You watch us run!" She began to cry slightly, but her face showed her determination.

"River, I need to ask you something." Danni spoke up, watching the numbers count down on the screen before facing her, "I've still got everything to come, I haven't hit A Good Man Goes to War yet, and I can stop it." She explained, the Doctor frowning at her. She never talked about what she knew, and she never tried to change it.

"I know." River replied.

"Do you want me to save you?" Danni asked her. River shook her head.

"Not one line." River repeated and Danni leant back on the wall, tears streaming but with a smile. River had said that with such conviction she believed her. There was nothing she could do to save her here, and she would respect her wishes in the future. She had just needed to know. River looked at her softly, a look of pride in her eyes, "Love you sweetie." She told the ginger girl.

"Not as much as I love you." Danni replied and River laughed, shaking her head.

"I doubt that very much."

"River, you know my name!" The Doctor interupted their moment, seeing the countdown nearing the end.

"Autodestruct in ten..." The computer began counting down the last 10 seconds.

"You whispered my name in my ear." He told her, "There's only one reason I would ever tell anyone my name. There's only one time I could..." His lip quivered as he began crying for her. She smiled tenderly at him.

"Hush, now! Spoilers..." She whispered.

"...three, two, one..." She plugged two cables together and Danni and the Doctor flinched away as a bright white light filled the room.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor and Danni sat in silence, only broken by the occasional sob escaping from Danni lips. They will still attached to the metal beam, with Danni snuggled as best she could against the Doctor, his arm hanging on her shoulders as he tried to comfort her. They both stared, devastated, at where River should have been. Where she _had_ been moments ago before her body was burnt up by the energy she had taken in. The Doctor turned to Danni after feeling her shift, lying down as much as she could and kicking the diary and screwdrivers closer to them. His blue screwdriver rolled off the book on up to them, and she picked it up.

"We should go find Donna." She told him quietly and he nodded, taking the screwdriver out of her hand before unlocking the handcuffs. He helped her stand, but not before she picked up the rest of River's belongings. They walked hand-in-hand out of the room.

_~0~0~0~_

Donna walked through the little shop at the exit of the library, studying everyone very closely as she tried to find her husband from the digital world. She spotted the Doctor and Danni leaning against the wall, looking out towards the crowd as she slowly walked over, leaning against the wall between them, causing them to let go of each others hands to let her in.

"Any luck?" The Doctor asked after a pause, turning to her.

"There wasn't even anyone called Lee in the Library that day. Suppose he could have had a different name out here, but let's be honest, he wasn't real, was he?" Donna asked the Doctor, who turned to look out at the people again.

"Maybe not." He admitted.

"I made up the perfect man. Gorgeous, adores me, and hardly able to speak a word. What's that say about me?"

"Everything." The Doctor muttered. Donna turned to him, looking offended. Danni reached around and smacked him on the arm, jolting him out of his thoughts, "Sorry, did I say everything? I meant to say 'nothing'. I was aiming for 'nothing', I accidentally said 'everything'." Danni giggled despite her sombre mood; sometimes he did say the darndest things.

"What about you?" Donna asked the pair, "Are you all right?"

"I will be." Danni replied with a shrug.

"I'm always all right." the Doctor added.

"Is 'all right' special Time Lord code for 'really not all right at all'?" Donna asked and he looked down at her, confused.

"Why?"

"Cause I'm 'all right', too." She told him and they shared a look, understanding each other perfectly. Danni then took Donna's hand, squeezing it tightly.

"You deserve a real man, not one made of pixels." She told Donna, "And he'll treasure you, I just know it." Donna smiled at her, believing her instantly. She always did, Danni said things with such confidence it was hard not to. The Doctor took Donna's other hand.

"Come on." He told them and they left, joined together in a chain. They headed down a large marble staircase, where the Doctor showed Donna River's diary. He placed it on a railing overlooking the complex.

"Your friend, Professor Song." Donna started, "She knew you in the future, but she didn't know me. What happens to me? Because when she heard my name, the way she looked at me..." She trailed off, River had looked at her as if she was such a tragic story. She hoped that wasn't true, but she couldn't fight the sinking feeling she got when she thought back to it.

"Donna, this is her diary. My future. I could look you up. What do you think? Shall we peek at the end?" He asked as placed a hand on it firmly, almost temping her. They both stared at it until Donna shook her head with a smile.

"Spoilers, right?"

"Right." He placed River's screwdriver on the book and they started walking up the stairs, this time the Doctor holding Danni's hand tightly.

"Come on. The next chapter's this way." He told them.

"Strange you gave her your screwdriver, though." Danni pointed out knowingly, "All this time you had to think about it, and all you did was give her that? I wonder why?" The Doctor looked down at her and she winked, a small smile spreading on her lips. His eyes opened in realisation and he ran down the stairs again, picking it up to look at it.

"Why? Why would I give her my screwdriver? Why would I do that? You're right, future me had years to think about it, all those years to think of a way to save her, and what he did was give her a screwdriver! Why would I do that?" He took off a small panel to find a neural relay flashing, only a couple of bars away from shutting down completely, "Oh! Oh! Oh, look at that! I'm very good!"

"What have you done?" Donna asked, not quite understanding.

"Saved her!" The Doctor and Danni shouted. She nudged him forward.

"Go!" She told him, "One last time, you take her and you run, Spaceman!" He kissed the top of her head and dashed off through the library. Danni took Donna's hand and they began walking back into the library at a more leisurely pace.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Danni asked her friend, who looked at her with a frown.

"What is?"

"That not everyone always has to die all the time."

"Yeah, yeah it is." Donna replied slowly, a smile spreading on her face. Danni took a deep breath and then began swinging her arm.

"You know what I fancy?" She started, "A big bag of chips and a movie. You up for 'Back to the Future'?" Donna laughed as they headed towards the TARDIS.

"Haven't you had enough of time travel?" She asked and Danni shook her head.

"Have you?" Donna rolled her eyes goodnaturedly.

"No, no I haven't." She admitted as she pushed the door open, letting them both in.

_~0~0~0~_

Danni slowly approached the Doctor, acutely aware he was still very angry at her. She sighed slightly, great, she'd managed to annoy Ten again. She tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around, surprised. He hadn't heard her coming.

"Donna's gone to bed, but I'm not tired." She told him lamely.

"You should have told me." He replied, cutting right to the heart of the matter, "You know I don't like it when you keep important things from me." She nodded.

"I know," She admitted, "but I stand by my decision. You needed to focus, I'd've been another distraction you didn't need." His eyes widened.

"A distraction?!" he exclaimed, running his hand through his hair, "Danni, when I realised, my hearts stopped." He blinked, obviously he hadn't meant to have said that out loud. She smiled gently, grabbing his other hand.

"But I'm okay now." She told him gently, but firmly, "That's what matters, right?" She lifted his hand up and placed a kiss on his knuckles. He regarded her then nodded, sighing in relief.

"Yes, you're right." He squeezed her hand and she took in a deep breath, steadying herself.

"Why did you get mad when River held my hand?" She asked him, biting her lip, worried about his reaction. It had been bugging her since she had stopped being so angry at River. He had been coming around, and then as soon as she had taken River's hand he'd become grumpy again. His eyes drifted to her mouth for a moment before he shook his head slightly and his eyes shot up.

"She's big in my future." He replied unsurely, "And when you touched, there was no temporal energy."

"'Temporal energy'?" She repeated, then gasped slightly in realisation, "You wanted her to be me?" He let go of her hand and rubbed his eyes in frustration.

"I don't know." He admitted, "But she knew my name, and there's no one I trust more than you, it made the most sense." She studied him with a thoughtful pout; he looked so lost, so confused.

"In my universe," She started, "I was quite obsessed with you." He moved his hand, looking at her with furrowed brows, confused but intreged, "I spent a lot of my time searching the internet for you, and even though you didn't exist, there's a lot more information out there than anyone in this universe will ever know. Even River." She swallowed, licking her lips as her mouth went slightly dry, "Your name was something never ever revealed, but there was this... thing. This little glimmer of information we all clung to." She looked him square in the eyes, "And it was Theta Sigma." His mouth dropped.

"How do you know that?" He whispered and she smiled.

"You see? I know that, and you never told me." She explained, "I'm not saying the way she found out is bad, because it's not. You do tell her. But all that proves is that you trust her with your life. I trust her with mine too. And if I had some secret name, I'd probably tell her. And there's nothing..." She trailed off, looking for the right word, "... romantic between the pair of us. She's beautiful, but it's not like that." She blushed slightly, "There's only one person in that regard for me." He stared at her silently before pulling her in for a hug, squeezing her tightly as if he was afraid to let her go.

"Oh Danni-Girl." He whispered, "You're... fantastic." He decided. He then pulled back, holding her at arms length, a smirk on his face, one eyebrow raised, "Obsessed, eh?" She blushed deeper and smacked him on the arm.

"Watch it, Spaceman." She warned, but didn't deny it; there was a reason Claire had given her a Doctor Who themed present. The smile on her face dropped as she thought about Claire, realising she hadn't even thought about home in so long, only when she had been terrified. She was starting to forget already. The Doctor, sensing her change in mood, wrapped an arm around her shoulder and turned to the console.

"While Miss Noble is asleep, why don't we go somewhere amazing?" He almost challenged and she looked up at him, her heart swelling as he tried to make her feel better. She blinked, surprised by the rush of romantic feelings that washed over her. Shaking her head, she smiled again.

"Where?" He reached out and grabbed a lever.

"Let's find out." He flicked it up and the TARDIS jumped into action, "Allons-y!" Danni laughed, she'll deal with whatever that was later.

___~0~0~0~_

Donna held Danni's hand as they headed back to the TARDIS. Danni had tears running down her cheeks as she laughed, Donna trying to stop but every time she glanced back she would set off again. The Doctor walked behind the two, a scowl on his face as tried to, yet again, remove the slime from his hair.

"You know, you two could help instead of just laughing." He pointed out, annoyed.

"You're the one who thought going slime frog hunting would be a good idea." Donna replied over her shoulder.

"I think you might need to get your coat dry cleaned." Danni told him through her laughter and he glared at the back of her head before smirking.

"What about your dress?" He asked and she turned, seeing the glint in his eyes.

"Oh no, no you don't Spaceman..." She warned him but he ignored her, taking him off in a sprint towards her. She squealed and began running away, Donna laughing even harder as he caught up with her quickly, picking her up and squeezing her against him tightly. She groaned in disgust, trying to push him off.

"Eugh." She cried when he let her go, trying to get rid of the slime but failing, "I look like I've been gunged." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, giving her a little squeeze.

"Oh come it, it's lovely isn't it? Like a massive lump of hair gel." He rubbed some in her hair and her eyes narrowed.

"This better wash out, Doctor." She snapped, "I love this dress."

"You love all your dresses." He retorted and she nodded.

"Yes, I do. That's why I wear them." She replied, "Otherwise I'd just be wearing clothes I hate, and that would be stupid." He chuckled slightly and they stopped as he unlocked the TARDIS with a click of his finger, "You love that, don't you?" she asked him and he nodded.

"It's cool." He replied and Danni paused as he and Donna entered the TARDIS in front of him. She laughed to herself, that must be where Eleven got it from. The more time she spent with Ten, the more of Eleven she seemed to see. Or, maybe it was wishful thinking. Ever since the Library she had suddenly really wanted to be with Eleven, but she would never admit to herself that it was because River had scared her. If he still married River, then what was she in the future?

She shook her head as she stepped into the TARDIS and shook her head, why would it matter who River was? It's not like she loved him back or anything. It was way too early for nonsense like _that._

"So, where are we off to now? Somewhere I hope there's no more slime-frogs, in any case." Donna asked as the Doctor began piloting the TARDIS away.

"Well there's this planet in the Xion system called Midnight. The planet is made of diamond; Diamond Waterfalls, Diamond Mountains you name it, it has it." Danni's eyes widened. Not Midnight...

"Yeah, but it's surface is completely unhabitable." She pointed it. The Doctor stared at her in slight surprise then smiled.

"You've heard of it? I haven't taken you there already, I have?" she shook her head and bounded over, taking his hand and swinging it.

"I'm not a fan of spa's..."

"Spa?" Donna interrupted, intrigued, "You mean, like massages and mud facials? Relaxation all the way?" The Doctor nodded, obviously not liking the idea as his face fell slightly.

"I suppose so, yes, but..."

"No buts Spaceman. I want to go to a spa. No more running for our lives. A nice, relaxing day, lovely." The other two stared at her, looking hesitant but she placed her hands on her hips, "I'm the companion, am I not? I want to go to this diamond planet." Danni sighed and nudged the Doctor.

"Go on, let's go. We'll just stay on the complex until she gets bored. We can go swimming or something." His eyes lit up at that and he nodded.

"Okay, okay. You've twisted my arm." Donna cheered and pulled them all into a hug, the trio laughing happily as Danni was squished between the other two painfully. In fact, that wasn't the hug.

"Oh no not..." she moaned as in a flash of light she reappeared in a pitch black room. "...again. What the...?" She finished. She stepped forward, arms raised in front of her, "Hello?" she called. No one replied and she continued forward, reaching a wall. She felt across it, trying to find a handle to some sort of door when one across the room opened, blinding her slightly. Two men with large guns burst in, pointing them at her and she raised her hands, smiling worried, "Hello, where am I?" Between them a slightly balding man in a suit flanked by a curly haired woman stepped in. The man was looking at her smugly, his gaze making her want to wrap her arms around herself as he leered over her.

"There's a girl in the same cage as my Metaltron." He stated, "Anyone want to tell me how that has happened?"

"She just appeared sir, in a flash of light." A man in a full body suit appeared behind them, "Teleport maybe?"

"Simmons, Simmons, Simmons." He tutted, "Have you asked her?" Simmons shook his head.

"She's only just appeared, sir." The man in the suit stepped forward and Danni stepped back. The way they were talking about her like she wasn't there scared her.

"What is your name?" The man demanded.

"Danielle Fielding." She stuttered out, "I don't really know where I am, can you tell me please?" He chuckled slightly.

"She's English, how quaint. Maybe we'll introduce Limey to her later, he might know her." She frowned, why wouldn't they answer her?

"Is the Doctor here?" She asked.

"I doubt it very much. You're 50 floors underneath Salt Lake City. That's in America, by the way sweetheart. You shouldn't be here, let alone any doctors." He told her with a smile, which fell very quickly as he turned angry, "So why are you? Are you here for the Metaltron?"

"I... I don't even know what that is." She replied, even though the name sounded familiar.

"I don't believe that for one second. You know what I think? I think you're an alien as well." She shook her head.

"No, I'm human, I swear." She told him but he shook his head.

"No human could just appear in my Cage. Take her next door, chain her up and examine her. See if she talks then." He walked out and the two men with guns grabbed her. She struggled, pleading with them to let her go as they dragged her out of the room. She looked around quickly, trying to see what this Metaltron was when her eyes fell upon the creature who had been chained behind her this entire time.

"No..." She breathed as she fell still. It was the Metaltron, also known as a Dalek.

_~0~0~0~_

_... And there's the start of Nine :P I didn't want her recognising the 'Metaltron' or Van Statten straight away, cause I feel that as she now has been here awhile she might struggle remembering faces and names a little, especially because he's really only in the scene's with the Doctor and not Rose._

_You all have given very good reasons for having either separate or a single story, all of which have been my thoughts on the issue. My only concern is that, what I'll call Part 2, of the story is slightly darker, slightly more 'adult' (no sexy scene's though ;P) and I think that it might up the rating. So, as a sub-question, would you still read if Part 2 is rated 'M'? I think I can get away with it being 'T', but then I'd worry I'd edit it down too much and as reader's you might get the raw end of the deal. Leave you're answers in the little box._

_Other news, I'm going to try a update schedule, because I think deadlines will help me write better, and I don't think I'd feel like I'm letting you down while trying to finish episodes. Sooo, I'm going Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday because that keeps with my 3 updates a week :)_

_Right, time to look at your wonderful reviews..._

_I'm glad you're enjoying my little story :) I remember finding my first Doctor/OC and being 'oh my god how did I miss this?!' :) Hateful!Doctor appears one more time in this 'part' of the story, I can promise that :) I thought the same, 120 is huge and while I do like longer stories because I read very quickly that just seems too long, and if I came across one of that length I'd think they were maybe rambling and it might not get my attention, whether it deserves it or not._

_Yeah, I couldn't really kill Danni, not like that anyway :P_

_I'm flattered that you have come here despite your OTP, Danni is very pleased you approve of her XD But don't threat, I'm not taking Rose/Doctor away from the series, because I don't think Danni's in his early life enough to make a difference to that, so you can have a bit of both :)_

_Aww, you're very welcome :) Thank you for reading and taking the time to review x_

_I liked Gwen, but I didn't like the way they immediately tried to pair her up with Jack, I think it belittled her character a bit. I don't know if it really got the attention and time Torchwood deserved, which is why it was never as successful as maybe it should have been, but that's just my opinion. Either way, more Jack is good in my books :__

_Heh, I did think about having her sit there, but that didn't seem like something Danni could just do, sit there and let her kill herself. River knew that as well, hence the punch :)_

_No, I'm not related to Steven Moffat, although how awesome would that be? I could get him to put Danni in the show ;P I do enjoy throwing stuff in when you least expect it, every time I put a little reference in to later in the story I grin from ear to ear :)_


	25. The Metaltron

The Doctor, the ninth Doctor, followed Van Statten into the outer room outside a place called The Cage, intrigued about his 'living specimen'. He and Rose had followed a distress signal that had originated from under the Earth in America, sometime in 2012. The complex was owned by a man called Henry Van Statten, and the Doctor really didn't like him. He'd never heard of Van Statten which immediately had put him on edge. Van Statten and his crew seemed to believe that he was something big and since, quite frankly, he knew everything, he suspected whatever he was holding wasn't good. He was grateful Rose was upstairs with the British lad, at least she would be safe. Van Statten, the pudgy bald man obviously compensating for something, walked past the two guards and the man in the bright orange full body suit and up to a vault-like door in the wall.

"We've tried everything. The creature has," He typed a pass code into a keypad and the door unlocked, "shielded itself but there's definite signs of life inside."

"Inside? Inside what?" The Doctor asked as the door opened outwards into the room. The man in the orange body suit, holding his helmet in his hands, walked up to Van Statten.

"Welcome back, sir. I've had to take the power down - the Metaltron is resting." The Doctor frowned.

"'Metaltron'?" He asked Van Statten; he'd never heard of a Metaltron.

"Thought of it myself." Ah, that'll be why, "Good, isn't it? Although I'd much to prefer to find out its real name."

"Here, you'd better put these on." The orange man took off his gloves and offered them to the Doctor, "The last guy that touched it... burst into flames." The Doctor grinned at the man.

"I won't touch it then." He replied and Van Statten continued to smirk at him.

"Go ahead, Doctor. Impress me." Van Statten taunted. The Doctor, with a neutral look on his face, stepped into the cell, "Don't open that door until we get a result." He heard Van Statten command and the door shut behind him, leaving him in almost pitch black with just a little blue light across the room. He spotted some tools on a table, obviously what they had been using on the alien and his mood darkened. The human race, torturing information out anything they didn't understand. He turned to the blue light.

"Look, I'm sorry about this. Mr Van Statten might think he's clever, but never mind him. I've come to help. I'm the Doctor." He told the alien gently.

"Doc-tor." A robotic voice stated, two lights on top of it's head flashing with each syllable. The Doctor's hearts froze in his chest.

"Impossible." He whispered in shock. That can't be...

"_The_ Doctor?" The voice asked. The Doctor could only watch in horror as a light came on, illuminating the Dalek in front of him, "Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" He ran to the door as the Dalek lifted it laser at him. He banged on the door, then rattled it frantically.

"Let me out!" He pleaded.

"Exterminate!" It cried, "You are an enemy of the Daleks! You must be destroyed!" It continued to wave it's gun around. The Doctor stopped what he was doing when he realised he wasn't dead and looked at it, his face breaking out into a grin.

"It's not working!" He cheered in realisation. The Dalek looked at his gun as the Doctor laughed in relief, "Fantastic! Oh, fantastic! Powerless! Look at you. The Great Space Dustbin. How does it feel?" He snarled at the Dalek, now furious. How dare it be here? How dare it survive?!

"Keep back!" The Dalek told him, almost scared if you could believe such a thing from a Dalek. The Doctor ran up to it, his face inches away from it's eyepiece as he stared it down.

"What for? What're you going to do to me?" The Dalek didn't reply and he began circling it menacingly, "If you can't kill... then what are you good for, Dalek? What's the point of you? You're nothing. What the hell are you here for?" He demanded as he made it back around the the front.

"I am waiting for orders." The Dalek replied.

"What does that mean?"

"I am a soldier. I was bred to receive orders."

"Well you're never gonna get any. Not ever." He told the machine gleefully.

"I demand orders!"

"They're never gonna come! Your race is dead! You all burnt, all of you. Ten million ships on fire - the entire Dalek race wiped out in one second." The joy of knowing they were dead, that the entire race was dead built up in him as it always did. Even with this one right in front of him, all he could do was smile at the thought of there being _no more Daleks._ He then frowned at himself, suddenly feeling guilty. He shouldn't feel like that about genocide. He didn't want to feel like that. If Rose could see him...

"You lie!" The Dalek cried out, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"I watched it happen. I MADE it happen!" The Doctor shouted.

"You destroyed us?" The Doctor paused, the guilt of what he had done hitting him, the sheer loneliness of what he had become causing him to turn his back on the Dalek and walk away.

"I had no choice." He told the machine quietly.

"And what of the Time Lords?" It asked.

"Dead." He replied, "They burnt with you. The end of the last great Time War. Everyone lost."

"And the coward survived." The Dalek taunted. The Doctor grinned to himself.

"Oh - and I caught your little signal... 'help me'... poor little thing..." He said mockingly, "But there's no one else coming 'cause there's no one else left."

"I am alone in the Universe." The Dalek summarized sorrowfully, it's eye stalk falling downwards.

"Yep." The Doctor said in the same tone, a sad smile on his face.

"So are you." His face fell, "We are the same." The Doctor spun around and stormed over to it.

"We're not the same, I'm not-" He trailed off, realising he was trying to convince himself rather than the Dalek, "No - wait. Maybe we are. You're right, yeah, okay. You've got a point. 'Cos I know what to do. I know what should happen. I know what you deserve." He raised his eyebrows, a manic look on his face, "Exterminate." He crowed, striding towards a control panel and pulling a lever. The Dalek was engulfed by electricity and it began screaming. The Doctor watched it, a feeling of justice filling him.

"Have pity!" It pleaded.

"Why should I? You never did." He replied, turning up the voltage as he watched it suffer. The door flew open and soldiers began filing in. Instantly knowing they were there to stop him, the Doctor rushed forward to turn the voltage up one more time before he was restrained and pulled out of the room. The man in the orange body suit turned off the machine.

"I saved your life, now talk to me! God damn it, talk to me!" Van Statten demanded but the Dalek fell silent.

"You've got to destroy it!" The Doctor called but Van Statten ignored him.

"The last in the Universe. And now I know your name. Dalek. Speak to me, Dalek." He told it but the Dalek remained silent, "I am Henry van Statten, now recognise me!" With still no response he turned to Simmons, "Make it talk again, Simmons." Simmons stepped towards it, eyes gleaming menacingly, "Whatever it takes."

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor, Van Statten and the bushy haired woman named Goddard stepped into a lift, following two guards with guns, who stood at the back silently.

"The metal's just battle armour," The Doctor explained, "the real Dalek creature's inside."

"What does it look like?" Van Statten asked.

"A nightmare. It's a mutation. The Dalek race was genetically engineered - every single emotion was removed except hate."

"Genetically engineered... by whom?" Van Statten sounded impressed and the Doctor rolled his eyes, frustrated by the man's lack of urgency. They had to destroy it.

"By a genius, Van Statten. By a man who was king of his own little world - you'd like him." He taunted and the bushy haired woman stepped between them, knowing an argument would break out if she didn't stop it.

"It's been on Earth for over fifty years - sold at a private auction moving from one collection to another. Why would it be a threat now?" She asked, obviously taking him a little more seriously even though she seemed slightly sceptical.

"Because I'm here." The Doctor stated simply, now addressing her, "How did it get to Earth? Does anyone know?"

"Records say it came from the sky like a meteorite. It fell to Earth on the Ascension Islands - burnt in its crater for nearly three days before anybody could get near it and all that time it was screaming. It must've gone insane." Oh this got better and better; not just a Dalek, but an _insane _Dalek.

"Must've fallen through time. The only survivor." He mused out loud.

"You talked about a war?" She asked and he nodded.

"The Time War. The final battle between my people and the Dalek race." He explained to her.

"But you survived too." Van Statten stated, not looking at the Doctor.

"Not by choice." The Doctor assured him.

"This means that the Dalek isn't the only alien on Earth, Doctor," Van Statten turned to face him, "there's you. The only one of your kind in existence. Take him to the girl. She knew that creature as well."

_~0~0~0~_

Two large lights flashed on, illuminating the Doctor who was chained to a rack, his hands above his head. He blinked in the light, having been restrained in the darkness the light almost blinded him. He looked around, his eyes widening in surprise as he saw Danni next to him, unconscious and hanging much in the same way. While she was still dressed, however, he had been stripped to his waist.

"Danni!" He cried, surprised and horrified as he began struggling at the sight of her. He glared at Van Statten, who was stood behind an instrument, smiling cruelly, "Let her go!" What was she doing here? She had disappeared after Cardiff and Gwen. What did it mean, her being here as well?

"Ah, so you know her. I knew you three were linked, even though she's only human and you're so much more." Van Statten taunted. Danni began stirring, panicking as she found herself chained up and fighting against the restraints hard.

"Danni, calm down!" The Doctor told her and she span, alarmed to see him next to her. Her eyes travelled to his torso and she couldn't help the smirk on her face.

"A topless Time Lord. Not the worse thing I could see in an underground cage." She told him.

"If you don't mind." Van Statten snapped, "We have more important things to be , smile!" The instrument ran a beam over the Doctor's torso, scanning him. He grimaced in pain, moaning when it stopped abruptly.

"Leave him alone, you stupid American!" Danni snarled, now trying to get away so she could smack him, hard. Oh, how she hated that man!

"Two hearts!" Van Statten crowed happily, looking at the results of the scan and ignoring her shouts, "Binary vascular system! Oh, I am so going to patent this."

"So that's your secret. You don't just collect this stuff, you scavenge it." The Doctor called to him, and he shrugged, not denying it at all.

"This technology has been falling to Earth for centuries." Van Statten explained, "All it took was the right mind to use it properly. Oh, the advances I've made from alien junk, you have no idea, Doctor. Broadband? Roswell. Just last year my scientists cultivated bacteria from the Russian Crater, and do you know what they found?" The Doctor watched him, looking disgusted but intrigued while Danni just glared at the man. What a slimy human being, no wonder the Doctor got angry at humans all the time, "The cure for the common cold. Kept it strictly within the laboratory of course, no need to get people excited. Why sell one cure when I can sell a thousand palliatives?"

"Do you know what a Dalek is, Van Statten?" The Doctor snapped in reply, "A Dalek is honest. It does what it was born to do for the survival of its species - that creature in your dungeon is better than you." Van Statten's eyes narrowed.

"In that case, I will be true to myself and continue." He bit out, striding back over to the scanner.

"Please listen to him!" Danni begged, "Dalek's don't negotiate! They don't listen, they don't have mercy! That Dalek will be the end of everyone on this planet!" The Doctor stared at her, surprised and a little suspicious. How did she know what a Dalek was like? She was only young, she shouldn't have even heard of them.

"That thing downstairs is going to kill every last one of us!" He said frantically as he turned back to Van Statten; he'd deal with the conundrum of Danielle Fielding later, right now there was a Dalek, alive, and no one seemed to care!

"Nothing can escape the Cage." Van Statten assured confidently before running the scan again, the Doctor writhing around in pain. Danni squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to watch him when she couldn't do anything to stop him hurting.

"But it's woken up! It knows I'm here! It's gonna get out! Van Statten, I swear no one on this base is safe! No one on this planet!" He pleaded a final time, but Van Statten just ran the scan one more time, the Doctor throwing his head back and screaming at the pain.

"Condition red! Repeat, condition red! This is not a drill!" A voice came over the intercom as an alarm began blaring. This Van Statten did take notice of, looking at the Doctor who was covering in sweat, panting from the pain.

"That'll be Rose touching the Dalek." Danni told the Doctor.

"Release me if you want to live." He told the man wearily.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor led Van Statten, Danni, his assistant and his security guards out of the lift and into Van Statten's office. He headed immediately to one of the monitors showing the cell, Rose stood there anxiously.

"You've got to keep it in that cell." The Doctor stated, startling the blonde girl slightly. She turned and faced the camera.

"Doctor, it's all my fault." She told him and Danni frowned.

"No it's not." She assured Rose, "You weren't to know." Rose blinked, surprised at seeing Danni there.

"Danni?" Rose asked and Danni nodded, waving with a smile.

"Hello! I'll explain later, promise." Rose nodded and a security guard leant over her shoulder.

"I've sealed the compartment. It can't get out, that lock's got a billion combinations." He told the office, addressing the Doctor more then Van Statten. He didn't really like the man, no one did and he knew he wasn't clever enough to fight whatever the Metaltron actually was.

"The Dalek's a genius. It can calculate a thousand billion combinations in one second flat." The Doctor retorted, arms folded, agitated. Van Statten's head shot around as he regarded the Doctor, someone who obviously knew more than he did. He didn't like it.

"Just get out of there. Seal every door on your way, but don't fight it." Danni warned, "You won't win."

"Stand your ground!" Van Statten snapped and Danni stared at him, incredulously.

"It's a _Dalek!_" She exclaimed, "It will kill them! All of them!"

"It's _my_ Dalek!" Van Statten replied just as angrily, "And this is _my_ complex!"

"Yes, and you will be buried here among your dead items from the stars you want to touch but never will! You are a weak man with a weak mind, and a Dalek will wipe the floor with you, you idiotic simpleton!" She turned to the screen, "Get out of there Rose!" The Doctor watched her rant, amused at her anger.

"How do you know what a Dalek is?" He asked. Danni looked out of the corner of her eye at him, a smirk on her face.

"I know what a lot of things are, sweetie. You'll get used to it." The door to the cell suddenly opened, all the guards in the lobby outside aiming at it with their guns.

"Open fire!" They all shot at the Dalek, the bullets ricocheting off its outer shell harmlessly.

"Don't shoot it, I want it unharmed!" Van Statten shouted at his men and Danni, having finally had enough of the man, span and slapped him across the face. The guards stood frozen, shocked and amused at the British girl's action as she stepped on her tiptoes, meeting him eye-to-eye.

"Shut. Up!" She shouted, eyes blazing before turning to the screen.

"Rose, get out of there!" The Doctor begged Rose.

"De Maggio -" The guard who had addressed the Doctor turned to his female partner, "take the civilians and get them out alive. That is your job, got that?" She nodded, heading for the door.

"You - with me." She commanded Rose and the limey lad Van Statten had mentioned before. They followed her out of the room without complaint. The male guard continued shooting while retreating but the bullets had no effect. The Dalek turned away from him, ignoring him as it glided towards the camera. The members of the office stared silently as it raised it's sucker to the screen, smashing it through the camera and cutting off visual to the cell. The sound of it screaming came across the audio feed.

"Abandoning the cage, sir." The male voice called as the guard fled for his life. Danni looked up at the Doctor, who was staring at the screen with a look of horror on his face.

"It's repairing itself." She whispered quietly and the Doctor nodded, recognising the noise. The Dalek was free.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor, Danni and Van Statten leant over Goddard's shoulder as she typed frantically on the keyboard of a computer with a thin, see-through monitor, almost like a window. She brought up some statistics.

"We're losing power. It's draining the base." Goddard exclaimed. The image changed to an outline of the USA with a close-up of a state, red dots flashing on it warningly, "Oh, my God. It's raiding entire power supplies for the whole of Utah."

"It's downloading." The Doctor replied.

"Downloading what?" Van Statten asked.

"Sir, the entire West Coast has gone down." Goddard continued as the image continued changing, showing the power outage stretching across America.

"It's not just energy. That Dalek just absorbed the entire Internet. It knows everything." The Doctor told them. Goddard brought up a blueprint of the base, showing all power with a error across one part of it.

"Sir, the cameras in the vault have gone down." She stated.

"We've only got emergency power, it's eaten everything else, you've got to kill it now!" The Doctor commanded Van Statten as Goddard nodded, holding her finger up to her ear to activate her communication device.

"All guards to converge in the Metaltron cage, immediately." She issued the command as Danni stared at the Doctor, incredulously.

"You can't send them in there! They don't stand a chance!" She shouted. He turned to face her.

"We have to stop it." The Doctor replied simply.

"It'll slaughter them!" She argued, getting more furious as he seemed to be disregarding all the soldiers in the base.

"You don't understand. That Dalek cannot be allowed to escape! The whole of the planet is at stake, a couple casualties..." Her eyes narrowed.

"I understand perfectly!" She snapped, "Let the little humans die, that's fine! We're only tiny little apes to you, but I'm not going to let you do this!" She yanked the device from Goddard's ear, much to her protest and fumbled with it clumsily, turning it on, "Retreat. I repeat, all guards retreat. Lock down each..." The Doctor snatched the device out of her hands.

"What do you think you're doing?!" He shouted at her.

"If I have to stop you as well, I will." She swore, "The bullet's are not going to make a dent on a fully-healed Dalek!"

"You don't know that." He replied, glaring at her, "Who are you?!"

"Danielle Fielding!" She shouted back as the sound of gun and Dalek fire filtered through to the room, "Look me up sometime!"

"Tell them to stop shooting at it!" Van Statten commanded Goddard, who turned to look up at him, amazed.

"It's killing them!" She exclaimed.

"They're dispensable, that Dalek is unique." He replied callously, picking up a microphone, "I don't want a scratch on its body work? Do you hear me? Do you hear me?" He shouted over the intercom. Danni smacked the microphone out of his hands.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" She screamed at him, so frustrated at everyone around her. Why would no one listen to her?! The gunshots faded into nothing and they all looked towards the ceiling, realising it wasn't because the guards were following orders. Danni let out a sob, her hand moving to her mouth as she tried to stifle the noise. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself and turned to the Doctor.

"This is what happens when you become emotional." She told him lowly, "All you had to do was stop and think, but you just can't stay calm."

"That Dalek needs to be stopped!" He told her angrily.

"_You_ need to be stopped." She snapped back and he blinked at her, surprised, "All you had to do was realise that we are in a museum full of alien tech, but you are still so full of hatred for yourself that you let them men die!" She turned away from him and pushed past Van Statten to go sit in the corner, her head in her hands. He should have listened to her. Eleven would have, even Ten would have at least taken notice but he obviously barely knew her. She didn't like it, she didn't know how to handle him at all and all they seemed to be doing was argue.

"Erm..." Goddard stated unsurely, drawing the Doctor's attention from the sobbing girl and to the computer screen, "That's us right below the surface. That's the cage - and that's the Dalek." She zoomed onto a piece of the blueprint and a flashing blue light appeared in one of the corridors, indicating the Dalek. The Doctor nodded, looked back at Danni with a thoughtful frown and then back at Goddard.

"This museum of yours - have you got any alien weapons?" He asked.

"Lots of them, but the trouble is the Dalek's between us and them."

"We've got to keep that thing alive. We could just seal the entire vault, trap it down there." The Doctor turned to him, not understanding why the man still wanted to keep the Dalek alive.

"Leaving everyone trapped with it? Rose is down there. I won't let that happen. Have you got that?" Van Statten stood up straight at the threat but the Doctor had already turned his attention back to the screen and Goddard, "It's got to go through this area. What's that?" He pointed to an area on the blueprint.

"Weapons testing." Goddard replied.

"Give guns to the lawyers, technicians, anyone. Everyone. Only then have you got a chance of killing it." He told her. She nodded and stood up to go give the orders, the Doctor taking her place in front of the screen.

"It's not going to work." Danni snapped from across the room, "It's a fully-functional, armoured Dalek with no master." The Doctor ignored her and she sighed, "Do you remember De Maggio?" She asked him and he rolled his eyes, turning to her.

"No. Who was he?" He muttered back.

"She." Danni corrected, "De Maggio is the woman who was told to look after Rose." This caught his attention and he straightened as Danni stared at the wall, "She's dead now. Thinking she could stop it. It's chasing Rose, and you're still sending men in to try and kill it."

"I thought you were the great expert, Doctor." Van Statten stated, the Doctor staring at Danni with a confused frown, "If you're so impressive, then why not just reason with this Dalek? It must be willing to negotiate - there must be something it needs, everything needs something."

"What's the nearest town?" The Doctor asked instead.

"Salt Lake City." Van Statten replied, confused.

"Population?"

"One million."

"All dead." The Doctor replied, "If the Dalek gets out, it'll murder every living creature, that's all it needs."

"But why would it do that?!" Van Statten shouted, frustrated and scared.

"Because it honestly believes they should die. Human beings are different, and anything different is wrong. It's the ultimate in racial cleansing and you, Van Statten, you've let it loose!" The Doctor replied just as angry. Danni sighed and stood up, wiping her eyes.

"It's not exactly a Dalek anymore." She told them reluctantly and the Doctor spun the chair around to face her.

"What?" He asked, exasperated.

"It used Rose's DNA to heal itself. Took something from her it could use and fixed itself." She walked over to the Time Lord, "What we have roaming the hallways is a Dalek/Human hybrid." The Doctor's mouth fell open.

"So?" Van Statten snapped.

"So everything." She snapped back at him, "You know what a human is that a Dalek isn't? Scared. Vengeful. Manipulative. Humans can use others emotions and weaknesses against them, a Dalek can't because it doesn't understand them, all it wants to do is kill. This Dalek can, and you're sending it after people who probably even now don't fully understand the threat it is, and it knows it." She turned to the Doctor, "Please." She begged him, "Please pull them out."They stared at each other, Danni trying to urge the Doctor to listen to her. He turned back to the monitor, eyes downcast.

"We need to stop it." He replied sadly and she closed her eyes in defeat.

"Fine." She whispered, "But I warned you." She went and sat back against the wall, wishing more then ever she was with Eleven.

_~0~0~0~_

_Thanks for all the replies to my question, I think that I will split it up into three because I think that rating the next part 'm' would mean you get the story as it's written. It seems like a plan, but that means that this part only has a few episodes left :P_

_As of writing this I have reached 100 favorites! Wahoo! *dances*_

_So, here's a sneak peak of Part 2, which is going to be called... *drum roll*... The Time Child: Insanity Calling! Mwahahaha! It's kinda obvious which episodes it's from, but enjoy all the same!_

"It's okay." Danni replied soothingly as she reached up and stroked his hair. The Master's hand shot out and caught her wrist, yanking her towards him. She yelped in surprise and fell forward into his lap.

"Oh ho ho, what's this then? A Vortex Manipulator?" She shook her head.

"No... Well, yes but it doesn't work." She explained quickly.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice? Your _assistants _are becoming increasingly stupid." The Doctor glared at him.

"It doesn't work." Danni reiterated hastily, "It's a fixed point, it just shoots me off when and where it likes. I can't even take it off." She took her arm back and tried to undo it to show him, "See, you can't grab it." He roughly grabbed her arm back again and tried for himself.

"A fixed point, on your arm?" He asked slowly.

_As for reviews..._

_I can't wait for Danni to meet Jack, but I'm not going to tell you when she does :P_

_This isn't more Hateful!Doctor, more amused/confused Doctor. He has met her before, but not enough to know who she is._

_I can imagine writing Gwen is very hard, actually. One of the reasons I've not tried to :P I'm sure you'll do an excellent job though, because you're obviously putting a lot of effort into it :)_

_Thanks for pointing out the italicised, no they weren't supposed to be so I've gone to change it back. Sorry about any confusion :)_

_I'm not sure about Midnight yet :P You'll have to wait and see about that one._

_Checked out your story, very well written well done :) I didn't want to read too much of it as I didn't want to accidentally take anything from it but keep it up, it's very good :)_

_Nah, she's still human :P Danni is going to be human throughout the story, I'm afraid, hope that's not too disappointing :)  
_

_Nope, still not related to Moffat, but soooo want to be XD_


	26. The Dalek

"The Dalek's surrounded by a force field." The Doctor explained into the intercom as leant of the microphone, hands planted on the desk either side of it, "The bullets are melting before they even hit home but it's not indestructible. If you concentrate your fire, you might get through." The soldiers were primed and ready to attack in Weapons Testing, waiting for the Dalek, "Aim for the dome, the head, the eyepiece. That's the weak spot."

"Thank you, Doctor," The voice of the commander came back over the communication system, "but I think I know how to fight one single tin robot. Positions!"

"We've got vision." Goddard stated meekly, looking at the screen across the room from them that Rose had been on before. Everyone turned to look at it as it showed an image of the Dalek in the middle of the weapons testing area, the soldiers shooting fruitlessly at it.

"It wants us to see." The Doctor said solemnly as the Dalek stared into the camera as if it was looking straight at them. It slowly levitated into the air, right up to the ceiling as it aimed at a fire alarm switch. It shot at it, causing it to explode and the sprinkler system to set off, showering the room in water. It then aimed down and shot at a man on the ground, killing him instantly. The water acted like a conductor, sending the shot through everyone except the Commander and a few of his men who were on the balcony above.

"Fall back! Fall back!" The commander shouted, but before they could leave the Dalek shot at them as well. The screen went black once more and the Doctor looked at Danni, who was stood there with tears in her eyes as she looked at the room of dead men. She had been right; he thought they might have stood a chance but they didn't. No one did.

"Perhaps it's time for a new strategy, maybe we should consider abandoning this place." Van Statten stated, stunned at the scene. Goddard slowly turned to look at him, unable to believe the audacity of the man.

"Except there's no power to the helipad, sir. We can't get out." She snapped, furious.

"Seal the vault." Danni mumbled, walking over, devastated. She hadn't had any real experience of death before she had shot into this universe, she wasn't too sure how to handle it. Part of her wanted to help them, another wanted to curl up and cry. The third, and what appeared to be more dominant part, wanted to scream and shout at everyone even though it wouldn't do any good. The men were still dead.

The Doctor nodded and she could of laughed. Oh, _now_ he was listening to her.

"You said you could seal the vault?" He asked Van Statten. The man nodded and sat down at the computer, typing.

"It was designed to be a bunker. In the event of nuclear war, steel bulkheads-"

"There's not enough power, those bulkheads are massive." Goddard interrupted.

"We've got emergency power, we can re-route that to the bulkhead doors." The Doctor replied.

"We'd have to bypass the security codes, that would take a computer genius!" She scoffed.

"Good thing you've got me, then." Van Statten gloated and Danni turned to face him.

"Oh, now you want to help." She mocked and he glared at her. Yep, angry seemed to best option at the moment.

"I don't want to die, simple as that. Nobody knows this software better than me." The screen showing the Dalek came back on, showing the Dalek stood in the middle of the weapons testing area.

"Sir..." Goddard breathed at the same time Danni called the Doctor, pulling the two men's attention from the computer to the image.

"I shall speak only to the Doctor." It declared. The Doctor tensed, staring at the Dalek angrily.

"You're gonna get rusty." He told the machine.

"I fed off the DNA of Rose Tyler. Extrapolating the biomass of a time traveller regenerated me." The Dalek explained.

"What's your next trick?" The Doctor taunted.

"I have been searching for the Daleks."

"Yeah, I saw. Downloading the Internet." He walked around the table to stand in front of the screen,"What did you find?"

"I scanned your satellites and radio telescopes." The Dalek continued as if he hadn't asked the question.

"And?"

"Nothing. Where shall I get my orders now?" It screamed, sounding terrified.

"You're just a soldier without commands." The Doctor told it.

"Then I shall follow the primary order - the Dalek instinct to destroy! To conquer!" It cried.

"What for? What's the point?" The Doctor asked, exasperated with this Dalek, this reminder of everything he had been through. The Dalek didn't reply, "Don't you see? It's all gone. Everything you were, everything you stood for."

"Then what should I do?" It asked sadly.

"All right then. If you want orders... follow this one: kill yourself." Goddard and Van Statten looked up, surprised at his command. Danni just shook her head.

"The Daleks must survive!" The Dalek retorted.

"The Daleks have failed." The Doctor replied angrily, "Why don't you finish the job and make the Daleks extinct? Rid the Universe of your filth, why don't you just die?" He screamed passionately and full of hate. There was a pause as the Dalek regarded what the man had said.

"You would make a good Dalek." The Dalek told him before the screen went blank. The Doctor stared at the screen, dumbstruck.

"Seal the vaults." He told them quickly, needing to move on.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor sat on one side of the transparent computer monitor, Van Statten on the other side as they typed furiously, trying to break the code needed to take down the defences.

"I can leech power off the ground defences, feed it to the bulkheads. It's been years since I had to work this fast." Van Statten told the Doctor with a grin. The Doctor paused and looked up at him.

"Are you enjoying this?" He asked but there was no reply. Goddard leant down to the Doctor's eye-level.

"Doctor - she's still down there." She pointed out. He pulled out his phone and chucked it across the desk at Danni.

"Call her." He commanded, not looking up from the screen. Danni rolled her eyes and held it up to her ear as it ran.

"This isn't the best time." Rose told her.

"I know, sorry. Where are you?" Danni asked in reply.

"Danni?" Rose asked, confused, "Where's the Doctor?"

"He's here. Where are you?" Danni asked again.

"Level 49." Rose replied.

"Level 49." Danni repeated to the Doctor, "You need to keep moving. The Doctor's closing off the vault at level 46."

"Why?"

"To trap the Dalek. Rose, if you don't hurry you will get trapped with it. Just keep running and don't let him leave you behind."

"I won't." Rose promised and Danni hung up the phone, sliding it back over to the Doctor.

"She's fine, she's running." She explained and the Doctor relaxed slightly. He had been worried about the blonde, not knowing if she was okay or not settled funny inside him. She was his responsibility, and he wouldn't let her die.

"Done it." Van Statten stated with a purposeful press of a key, "We've got power to the bulkheads."

"The Dalek's right behind them." Goddard pointed out as they watched the blue dot representing the alien travel up the staircases. The mobile phone rang again and Danni picked it up.

"Rose, don't ring just run!" She shouted, "It's right behind you!"

"We're nearly there, give us two seconds!" Rose replied out of breath.

"Doctor, I can't sustain the power. The whole system is failing." Van Statten told him. The Doctor looked between Van Statten and Danni, who shook her head pleadingly, "Doctor, you've got to close the bulkheads." He stared at the screen, watching the little blue dot approach the bulkhead.

"I'm sorry." He said, loud enough for Rose to hear, then pressed the enter key. A beeping began ringing out from the computer as the bulkhead began lowering agonisingly slowly.

"The vault is sealed." Van Statten declared. The Doctor shot out his seat and yanked the phone out of Danni's hand.

"Rose, where are you? Rose, did you make it?" He asked her. There was silence then the Doctor's face began to fall in despair and horror as she told him she hadn't made it. Danni stepped forward and began rubbing his arm in comfort, knowing what was coming next.

"See you then, Doctor." Danni barely heard Rose say down the phone, "It wasn't your fault. Remember that, okay? It wasn't your fault. And do you know what?I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

"Exterminate!" The Dalek's call echoed down the phone and he chucked it to the floor in anger, smashing it to pieces. Danni grabbed his arm tightly.

"She's fine." She told him and he looked at her, stunned and almost ashamed.

"I killed her."

"No, she's fine, I swear." Danni urged but he wasn't listening, again. She sighed in frustration. He should be listening to her now, if at any point, but this Doctor was so new out of the Time War he obviously didn't want to find the hope in any situation.

"I'm sorry." Van Statten said lamely and the Doctor turned to him, furious.

"I said I'd protect her. She was only here because of me, and you're sorry? I could've killed that Dalek in its cell. But you stopped me." The Doctor stepped towards him as he mentally shifted the blame from himself to Van Statten.

"It was the prize of my collection!" Van Statten defended, he wasn't to know all this was going to happen.

"Your collection?" The Doctor shouted, "But was it worth it? Worth all those men's deaths? Worth Rose?" Van Statten didn't reply, knowing it hadn't been, "Let me tell you something, Van Statten. Mankind goes into space to explore. To be part of something greater."

"Exactly! I wanted to touch the stars!" Van Statten replied enthusiastically.

"You just want to drag the stars down and stick them underground underneath tons of sand and dirt. And label them. Danni was right, you're about as far from the stars as you can get." He snarled back before his face fell, his grief written across his expression, "And you took her down with you. She was nineteen years old."

"Doctor," Danni stated slowly, "She's fine. She's not dead." She strode forward and forced him to face her, "You've not listened to me at all since the moment we met today, but please listen to me now. She isn't dead."

"But the Dalek killed her." The Doctor argued, "How do you know she isn't dead?" Danni growled slightly.

"Because I've seen the future, all right?" She snapped, "So, I know she's not dead. Deal with it, I'm right Spaceman and you're wrong! It's not the first time and it won't be the last." The lift opened and the Adam, the British man, stepped out into Van Statten's office, rubbing his hand nervously. The Doctor spun around, his attention now diverted as he stormed up to him.

"You were quick on your feet, leaving Rose behind." He snapped.

"I'm not the one who sealed the vault!" Adam retorted indignantly.

"Open the bulkhead or Rose Tyler dies." The Dalek voice stopped them both in their tracks. The Doctor walked up to the screen where the image of the Dalek and Rose had appeared, Rose looking terrified but most definitely alive.

"You're alive!" The Doctor stated happily as he stepped towards the screen.

"Can't get rid of me." Rose replied shakily.

"I thought you were dead." He told her seriously.

"I didn't." Danni pointed out, "I was right all along, but no one ever listens to me."

"I do." Rose told her sincerely.

"Open the bulkhead!" The Dalek demanded, interupting their moment.

"Don't do it!" Rose retaliated.

"What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?" That sentence and the silence from the Doctor that followed it hurt Danni more than she thought it would. She blinked at her own internal reaction, now was not the time to be jealous. All she seemed to be was jealous lately, there were way too many women in the Doctor's life to keep reacting like that. It was an awful trait and something she always promised herself she wouldn't do. Even in her relatively short life she had seen too many of her friends destroy relationships because of it, and she refused to go down the same route.

"I killed her once." The Doctor told Van Statten as he walked to the computer, "I can't do it again." He reversed the power, opening the bulkhead.

"What do we do now? You bleeding heart, what the hell do we do?" Van Statten exclaimed angrily, rounding on the Doctor who just stared back at him, not regretting his decision.

"Kill it when it gets here!" Adam suggested. Goddard leant on the desk, looking over at him with a glare.

"All the guns are useless, and the alien weapons are in the vault."

"Only the catalogued ones." Adam admitted, Van Statten looking at him surprised, eyebrows raised. Adam smiled apologetically at him.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor pulled yet another item out of yet another basket of Adam's un-catologued collection, frowning angrily at it.

"Broken." He chucked it into a pile of other useless items before taking another item out, "Broken," He chucked it aside and pulled another one out, "Hair-dryer."

"Mr Van Statten tends to dispose of his staff, and when he does he wipes their memory. I kept this stuff in case I needed to fight my way out one day." Adam explained to the pair.

"What, you in a fight? I'd like to see that." The Doctor teased as he checked over another item, discarding it straight away.

"I could do." Adam replied, feeling very offended.

"What're you gonna do, throw your A-Levels at 'em?"

"Play nice, boys." Danni retorted, amused at the Doctor's almost anxious arguing, not wanting the boy to think he had any chance of impressing Rose. The Doctor shot her a look then pulled out an item he seemed happy with.

"Oh, yes. Lock and load." The Doctor ran off without another word, heading up some stairs to Level 1. Danni sighed in exasperation.

"Every time." She murmured before following him, "Wait for me!"

_~0~0~0~_

Rose followed the Dalek as it headed down the corridor on Level 1, keeping a close eye on it as she tried to work out what it was doing. It aimed it's gun up at the ceiling and Rose jumped back as it shot upwards creating a hole. Sunlight streamed through to them, highlighting the Dalek. Rose sighed inwardly, they were almost on the surface.

"You're out. You made it." She told the Dalek with a smile, before looking back at the hole, "Never thought I'd see the sunlight again."

"How... does... it... feel?" The Dalek asked her slowly, now even struggling to speak. Before she could answer the Dalek opened it's casing, revealing the creature inside the huge robot. One of it's tentacles reached out, feeling the sunlight on it's skin. Rose stared at it, amazed.

"Get out of the way." She jumped, looking up to see the Doctor pointing a huge gun at the Dalek. She stared back at him in shock as Danni ran past and up to her, grabbing her hand and pulling in close.

"Oh thank god you're all right." Danni whispered. Rose patted her back limply.

"Rose, get out of the way, now!" The Doctor commanded and Rose shook her head, still staring at him.

"No! Cause I won't let you do this!" She replied.

"That thing killed hundreds of people." The Doctor explained.

"It's not the one pointing the gun at me." Rose told him coldly, her voice quiet.

"I've got to do this. I've got to end it. The Daleks destroyed my home, my people. I've got nothing left." He reasoned to himself more than her, building up the nerve to kill it.

"Look at it." She moved aside to let him see the Dalek. His aim faltered slightly as he looked at it, confused.

"What's it doing?"

"It just wants to feel the sunlight." Danni told him gently.

"But it can't..."

"It couldn't kill Van Statten - it couldn't kill me - it's changing." Rose interrupted hurriedly, "What about you, Doctor? What the hell are you changing into?" The Doctor studied her for a moment before lowering the gun.

"I couldn't..." He stuttered, tears in his eyes as he looked lost, "I wasn't..." He looked down at the Dalek again, then up at Rose, "Oh, Rose. They're all dead."

"Why do we survive?" The Dalek struggled to ask.

"I don't know." The Doctor replied honestly, because he really didn't know why he had to have survived when there was no one left.

"I am the last of the Daleks." The Dalek proclaimed quietly.

"You're not even that. Rose did more than regenerate you. You absorbed her DNA. You're mutating." He explained gently to it.

"Into what?" It demanded, frightened.

"Something new. I'm sorry." He apologised sincerely.

"Isn't that better?" Rose asked them all hopefully, but Danni shook her head.

"Not for a Dalek." She explained gently, "A Dalek is pure, and everything else is wrong."

"I can feel so many ideas. So much darkness... Rose... give me orders! Order me to die." It begged her, closing it's eye, waiting.

"I can't do that." Rose told it sadly.

"This is not life. This is sickness. I shall not be like you. Order my destruction! Obey! Obey! Obey!" It continued to command. Rose looked back at the Doctor, then at Danni, looking so lost that Danni wrapped an arm around her waist.

"It's okay." She reassured Rose, "It's horrible, but it's okay." Rose licked her lips, steeling herself then nodded once.

"Do it." She commanded.

"Are you frightened, Rose Tyler?" the Dalek asked her and Rose nodded again.

"Yeah." She admitted, tears in her voice.

"So am I." The Dalek replied feebly, "Exterminate." Danni pulled Rose back and up to the Doctor as the Dalek closed it's open armour. It levitated into the air, the golden balls that made up it's skirt flying off and surrounding it in a sphere. The Dalek began to glow, then in a split second exploded, vanishing out of existence.

_~0~0~0~_

Rose decided that Adam needed showing around the TARDIS before she and Danni caught up with what she had been up to. The way she had said it made Danni believe that Rose knew more about the future than maybe she should have, but as it would have had to be down to her she wasn't overly worried. She had pottered around the machine herself, checking into her room to find it in the exact same state it was in when she had been in it last with Ten, which made her smile. Eleven had been right, it was her one little bit of consistency. She found Nine in the console room obviously deciding where to take Adam to enforce into the man's mind that _he_ was in charge.

"So, where are we off to?" Danni bounced over to him and he eyed her suspiciously.

"How did you know what a Dalek was?" He retorted and she shrugged.

"Cause I've seen them before, and no doubt I'll see them again." She replied vaguely, "It really got to you though, didn't it?"

"Hardly." He snorted and she sighed.

"You're nothing like a Dalek." She told him, "A Dalek is cold and heartless. It kills because it can and it doesn't think why. You do, and it affects you deeply. You do what you have to do because it's right, a very bad thing for a very good reason."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Why don't you go find Rose until you jump again?" He suggested harshly and she sighed, patting him on the arm as she headed back out of the console room.

"You did the right thing. They were going to wipe out the entire universe just to win that war. Most people couldn't have made that decision, let alone follow it through. I'm proud of you."

"Proud of me? For wiping my entire race out of existence altogether?" He snapped back, amazed and angry in equal measure.

"No." She replied, "I'm proud of you for saving everyone else from the same fate." She left him to stew, realising this might be why he didn't like her later on. All because she knew something he never told her. She sighed to herself again as she bypassed looking for Rose and headed straight to her room. She shut the door behind her and flopped backwards on the bed, looking at the ceiling. Way to make a lasting impression. At least he seemed to forgive him by the time he his Eleven. She smiled happily to herself, wrapping her arms around herself. Oh, she couldn't wait to hit Eleven again. The other Doctor's were very lovely, but Eleven was lovely to _her_. Well... So was late Ten. She really didn't mind which version, but a girl loves to be made to feel loved.

She yawned as she stood and changed into her pyjamas, blue like most of her other clothes and climbed into bed. Oh well, at least she got to spend some time with Nine. After all, he was the first Doctor she's watched on television. The TARDIS dimmed the lights for her and she thanked the box out loud as she reached into her bedside table and pulled out a book, flipping to the end.

"Afterword, by Amelia Williams..."

_~0~0~0~_

_Not much to say about this chapter, is there? Hope you enjoyed it and thank you for all the reviews :)_

_This is where the Doctor's distrust of her starts, I suppose. Because, he doesn't know how she knows about the Time War, and he doesn't like it. But it's properly explained a later in the story, but you can piece most of it together with what I've given you :P_

_Yes, the 'L' should be capitalized, I don't know how that happened but I'm going to change it right now, so it should be soon :P I don't tend to put names because sometimes what I'm typing doesn't apply to just one review, but this is your own special reply Onesmartcookie78 :P Hello! *waves*_

_First of all, thanks for the honest review. I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. I completely understand where you are coming from, this is going to be a big story so I've just been focusing at the moment on Danni settling into her new life. I've added a couple of lines to this chapter, and next chapter you'll start to see her share more about her past. I'm going to do my best and expand her character and show you (the audience) why I felt she was a story worth telling. But I always appreciate helpful hints like yours, cause you explain how I can improve as a writer and if you feel any other notes feel free to review me them, I'm grateful for every one :)_


	27. Meanwhile with Rose Tyler

Rose knocked on Danni's bedroom door, rocking slightly on her heels as she held a cup of tea in her hand. There was no answer, but then again there had been no response to say she couldn't go in either so she opened the door gently and stepped inside. She hadn't seen the girl since they had left the Vault and the Dalek but the Doctor had told her she was still on board. She was, in fact, curled up on the bed, half dangling out of the covers with a book next to her head. Rose placed the tea on the bedside table and shook her awake. Danni batted her away but her eyes opened. She blinked in surprise at seeing Rose hovering over her.

"Hello." Danni stated lamely as she sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Rose perched herself on the bed.

"I brought you some tea." She explained, "I haven't seen you all night and last time you came to find me, so I thought it was my turn."

"Where's Adam?"

"I left him in the library." Rose told her with a laugh, "You should have seen his face, it was like I'd shown him heaven or sommat."

"It is an impressive library." Danni replied as she sipped her tea. No sugar, just how she liked it. She breifly wondered how Rose knew that, but Rose had said 'last time' so they must have had tea together before. Rose picked up the book off of her pillow and turned it over in her hand.

"'Melody Malone'?" She read questioningly, "You don't seem the type to read crime books." Danni took it off her.

"Oh, it's just a memory." Danni explained and she placed it into her bedside table.

"Of what?" Rose prompted and Danni sighed.

"Of something I can't change." Rose studied the girl, who had become quiet and stared into her mug, blowing on it gently to cool down the liquid. The Doctor had told her of how she had spent the entire time trapped underground shouting at him. He even admitted that he should have listened to her, but the Danni she had met before didn't seem like the same girl. It was also obvious that the other Danni had been much later on in her time line than this one. Rose didn't quite understand how Danni's existence worked, she knew she was from another universe but not why she was there or why she was forced to jump around. The item on her wrist had something to do with it, but Danni hadn't wanted to talk about it last time and by the sad look on her face now probably wasn't the best time to ask either.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked her, shifting closer so Danni could lean on her arm.

"I'm not used to being around so much death." Danni admitted as she rested her head onto her shoulder, "I've never experienced it, not really. I was a bit of a surprise baby and my grandparents were either already dead or died when I was so young I don't remember them at all. I haven't got any aunts or uncles, and I'm an only child. It's all starting to get to me. And so many people died..." Danni closed her eyes with another sigh, "I guess I'm just really missing being at home."

"Tell me about it." Rose prompted, "I've never heard about your life in your universe before." Danni looked up at her, a sad smile on her face. It was nice to think about home, no one had ever asked about it before now. It was like she hadn't existed until she landed here.

"If I'd been at home, and following time like I should have been, last week would have been my mums birthday." She started, "She wasn't turning any particular age, 56 isn't much of anything is it? But, I'da skipped uni for the week with a fake stomach bug and gone up to see her. We'd've gone out for tea to a pub where my dad would order a meal he didn't really want and she's swap with him, even though it was her birthday. We might go shopping, but probably not and for the most part we'd have stayed in and watched telly. Then I would have gone back to uni and life would have carried on as normal. That's what I miss more than anything, the normality of everyday life. At one point I was worried about if I would get my coursework done on time, now I'm just worried I might turn up naked somewhere without warning."

"You were at uni?" Rose asked, surprised. It wasn't that she thought Danni wasn't smart enough, she couldn't talk after all, but she hadn't seen her as a student. But, then again, she didn't look like she worked either. To Rose, she looked like a girl who jumped around time, because that's just how she knew her.

"Yeah," Danni confirmed, "English Literature. I didn't really know what to take, and I got two A's in English at A Level so..." She trailed off with a shrug.

"What's your mum called?"

"Elizabeth. Liz for short, and my dad's called Martin. They both met after they'd gotten divorced. They got married on my mum's 30th birthday." She began wringing her hands nervously, "I don't think that I think about them enough. I didn't realise it would have been my mum's birthday until a few days afterwards. I'm worried I'm going to forget them." Rose took the mug out of her hands and pulled her in for a hug, seeing the girl was on the verge of tears.

"You won't." Rose swore, " My dad died when I was a baby, but sometimes I dream about him."

"I was told by Amy to live every day as it came, and I've been trying." Danni explained as she clung to her, Rose frowning at the mention of another girl but she didn't say anything, "But it's just so overwhelming sometimes. I feel like I have such a huge responsibility, but I don't know if I'm here to change things, or to keep things as I know them. Maybe I'm just here, and it's all a huge accident... How am I supposed to know what to do?" Rose let her go to stand up, holding her hand out to Danni with a smile.

"Come with me." Rose said firmly. Danni took her hand, they really did hold hands a lot in this universe, and the pair walked the short distance to the console room. The Doctor wasn't there, who knew where he disappeared off to though, so they were undisturbed as Rose led her to the doors. She opened them both, pulling them inwards and revealing the vastness of the universe outside. She placed both hands on Danni's shoulders and forced her to sit down, her legs dangling outside the box. She did the same, both just managing to fit inside the frame.

"Why are we here?" Danni asked.

"To look out." Rose replied, "On your first night here, we spent the whole night talking. I was upset because we'd been to Cardiff and the maid, Gwen, had died. You sat me down here and told me that no matter how sad I was feeling, it didn't really mean much in the grand scheme of things." Danni's eyebrows shot up.

"That's a horrible thing to say." Danni exclaimed in horror, "Why would I tell anyone that?" Rose motioned outside and Danni turned to look out.

"You said that looking at the universe took any problem you had and shrunk it into insignificance, and that sitting here always made you feel better because of it. I thought it was strange, but if it works in the future it might work now." Rose reasoned. Danni studied the mass of stars and far-away galaxies she could see. It stretched out all around them, hanging in their little blue box, and was illuminated by multi-coloured gas clouds much like the images you would see on the show. It wasn't making her feel much better, if she was perfectly honest. Everything was so far away, she didn't see how she could even begin to imagine anyone or anything happening. So many people with so many problems stretched across the stars. People with families, friends, jobs, boring everyday lives with boring everyday problems. Like... should I get skimmed milk because I'm on a diet even though it tastes like water? Or, which university course should I take? Boy, did she know about that one. In fact, up until now it had been her biggest decision, and now most of her decision-making had been taken away from her.

Unlike the people out there. They had huge decisions to make. After all, at the time, milk choice always seems like the hardest decision ever made, and there were people who had so much larger choices to make. Should they take that job across the country away from everyone they have ever known? Can I raise a child on my own? They all made her life seem so... easy.

She sat up straight, a small smile of realisation on her face.

"You know," She started, "I do feel better."

"I knew you would. That's why it's your spot." Rose replied with a smile, pushing herself up, "I'm going to go find Adam, then the Doctor. Have fun." She patted Danni on the head and walked off. Danni sighed happily, relaxing for the first time since she had been with Ten.

Maybe she'd be okay.

_~0~0~0~_

_Just a shortish chapter, but we'll be getting back onto Doctor-filled goodness next chapter. I hope it's believable that Danni would just need to rant for a bit, and Rose just happened to be there. Unfortunately, Danni's pre-Doctor life was pretty boring, but even that's nice to talk about sometimes._

_Every review has been awesome, so thank you all :P Keeping it short and sweet because it's only a short chapter and I don't want the A/N to be longer than the actual story XD We do have Eleven next, but not Angels Take Manhatten. T'is one of my favorite episodes though, so I hope you'll all stick around and read it._

_Oh, and Hello Lex! Lovely name, by the way :) I've never noticed that about Adam's before, but you're right. It's not a name you can trust, is it?_


	28. The Face in the Window

The Doctor led Danni and Amy into an exhibition room in the Museé d'Orsay as a man lectured a group of tourists on the life and works of Vincent Van Gogh. The Doctor span on the spot, arms outstretched as he presented the room to Amy before grabbing Danni and pulling her close. She snuggled into his arms, a contented sigh escaping her lips. God, she loved it when he was all touchy-feely. It's the one thing that Ten and Nine were lacking.

"Thanks for bringing me." Amy told the Doctor shyly, flicking her red scarf at him as she opened her guidebook.

"You're welcome." The Doctor replied as he squeezed Danni, kissing her on top of the head. She blushed slightly, she felt like a school-girl but she didn't care.

"You're being so nice to me." Amy continued, then her eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Why are you being so nice to me?" She demanded.

"I'm always nice to you." The Doctor protested.

"Not like this. These places you're taking me – Arcadia..."

"Arcadia was beautiful." Danni interrupted with a sigh and the Doctor nodded, as if Danni was proving his point.

"The Trojan Gardens," Amy continued as if Danni hadn't said anything, "now this. I think it's suspicious."

"Well, it's not. There's nothing to be suspicious about." The Doctor rattled off too quickly.

"OK, I was joking. Why aren't you?" She asked him seriously.

"I am, I just..." He trailed off before rocking Danni, a huge grin on his face, "Danni-Girl here just had to fight off a mean old Dalek, so I thought we could all use a bit of cheering up. This way." He walked over to the man giving the lecture, dragging Danni with him.

"Smooth, Spaceman." She taunted him quietly and he spun her around to face him, a smirk on his face.

"True, though." He replied, kissing her quickly on the lips before spinning her back around, "You were very shouty that trip." He pointed out.

"You wouldn't listen to me." She replied, placing her hands over his as they held her tightly, "Plus, it'd just been my mum's birthday, I was sad."

"I know. Rose told me." Danni rolled her eyes slightly; of course she had.

"Each of these pictures now is worth tens of millions of pounds." The man explained to the crowd, "Yet in his lifetime, he was a commercial disaster. Sold only one painting, and that to the sister of a friend." Amy flicked through her guidebook, feeling very sorry for the long-dead man, "We have here possibly the greatest artist of all time, but when he died, you could sold his entire body of work and got about enough money to buy a sofa and a couple of chairs." There was a round of titters from the group, who followed the man off to the next painting.

"Who is it?" A voice of a boy caught the Doctor's attention.

"It's the doctor!" The Doctor turned to see two young boys looking up at the Portrait of Dr Gachet, "He was the doctor who took care of van Gogh when he started to go mad." The Doctor sighed in relief, for a moment he thought he had been recognised and he just wanted a quiet trip with Danni and Amy.

"You thought he meant you, didn't you?" Danni asked and shook her head at his grumble, "You and your ego, Doctor."

"You love it." He teased her as Amy grabbed his arm, pulling the pair over to The Church at Auvers. She held up her guidebook against it, jumping on the spot happily.

"Look! There it is, the actual one." She squealed.

"Yes. You can almost feel his hand painting it right in front of you. Carving the colours into shapes..." He let go of Danni, frowning and shaking his hair with his hand, "Wait a minute." He leant closer, examining what he had seen.

"What?" Amy asked.

"Well, just look at that." He pointed to the painting and Amy searched it, not knowing what she looking for while Danni's eyes headed straight to the window of the church.

"What?" Amy repeated.

"Something very not good indeed, I should guess." Danni replied.

"What thing very not good?" Amy asked, turning to face her.

"Look there, in the window of the church." The Doctor told her, tapping the painting. Amy leant in even closer, studying it confused.

"Is it a face?"

"Yes. And not a nice face at all. I know evil when I see it and I see it in that window."

"Evil's a bit strong, isn't it?" Danni asked but the Doctor was already walking over to the lecturer.

"...It has changed hands for something in the region of 20..."

"Excuse me," The Doctor interrupted, "if I can just interrupt for one second." He flipped open his psychic paper, showing it to the crowd like a police badge, "Sorry, everyone. Routine inspection, Ministry of Art and... Artiness. So, um..." He trailed off, waiting for the man to tell him his name as Amy and Danni joined him on either side.

"Dr Black."

"Yes, that's right." The Doctor muttered, as if he knew all along, "Do you know when that picture of the church was painted?" He motioned to the painting and Dr Black's eyes followed.

"Ah, what an interesting question. Most people..." He fell effortlessly into lecturing mode but the Doctor shook his head.

"I'm going to have to hurry you. When was it?" The Doctor pressed.

"Exactly?" Dr Black asked, surprised.

"As exactly as you can. Without a long speech, if poss. I'm in a hurry." The Doctor explained with a smile.

"Well, in that case, probably somewhere between the 1st and 3rd of June."

"What year?"

"1890. Less than a year before he killed himself." Dr Black told him solemnly. Danni smiled warmly at the man.

"Thank you, Dr Black, just what we needed. Nice bow-tie." She told him. He smiled, flattered and played with it as the Doctor turned to Amy.

"Bow-ties are cool." Amy shook her head in disagreement, still believing it to be a cry for help.

"Yours is very..." Dr Black started, motioning to the Doctor's TARDIS blue one. He shook the man's hand.

"Oh, thank you. Keep telling them stuff." The Doctor told him happily before letting go. He grabbed Danni's and pulled her through the exhibit, Amy trailing them, "We need to go."

"What about the other pictures?" Amy asked, glancing around at the other pictures.

"Art can wait. This is life and death." He shoved Amy in front of them, making her go faster, "We need to talk to Vincent van Gogh."

"Don't shove!" Danni scolded him, "She can't go anywhere without you, can she?" The Doctor shrugged, continuing to pull her down the stairs and out of the building towards the TARDIS.

"I don't want to be waiting for her, you humans are so slow!" He moaned as he followed Amy into the blue box.

"Oh we are, are we?" Danni snapped, slightly offended. He paused mid-flip of a lever and Amy smirked at the look of guilt that appeared on his face. Danni walked up to the console and looked up at the column, "I'll think you'll find we're just as good as you, and I'll prove it. Old Girl!" She called up at the machine, "1st June, 1890 if you don't mind." She had spent enough time with Nine ripping on humans, she needed to teach him some manners, however she didn't really known where to go after demanding the machine to fly away. Maybe pout until the Doctor apologised? Yeah, that sounded like a plan...

The lever the Doctor was holding shot out of his hand, flipping all the way down and the machine took off. Danni blinked and stepped back slightly, not actually expecting it to work. Neither did the Doctor, apparently as he yelled in shock.

"Oh sure, do what she asked!" He complained before turning to Danni, "I always knew she liked you better than me." He told her accusingly. Danni smiled innocently back.

"Why wouldn't she?" Danni replied, "I'm not the one who hits her with a mallet." The TARDIS landed with a soft thump, another thing that made the Doctor grumble as he made his way to the door. He stepped out onto the cobbles outside first, followed by Amy and finally Danni, who was smiling smugly. He led the two girls down an alleyway, illuminated by the lamps hanging of the buildings surrounding them. Amy and Danni jogged to catch him up, the pair flanking him on either side.

"Right, so here's the plan. We find Vincent and he leads us straight to the church and our nasty friend." He explained to them, swinging Danni's hand excitedly.

"Easy peasy." Amy replied.

"Well, no. I suspect nothing will be easy with Mr van Gogh. Now, he'll probably be in the local café - sort of orangey light, chairs and tables outside." He described. Amy opened the guidebook she was still holding, flicking through the pages until she found 'The Café Terrace on the Place Du Forum', showing exactly the image the Doctor described. They stopped as she showed him the image.

"Like this?" The Doctor nodded as Amy looked over the book, peering around.

"That's the one." He confirmed.

"Or indeed like that." The Doctor and Danni followed her gaze and saw the exact café being tidied up by a couple of woman dressed in maid outfits.

"Yeah, exactly like that." He replied, amazed at the resemblance.

"It really _is_ that pretty." Danni breathed and he turned to her, beaming at the awe on her face. He grabbed her by the hand and began dancing her over to the café, spinning her before walking up to a man in a suit looking over the members of staff.

"Good evening. Does the name Vincent van Gogh ring a bell?" The Doctor asked happily.

"Don't mention that man to me." The man muttered angrily before storming off inside. The Doctor blinked, surprised at the man's tone. He looked around, trying to find someone else to ask.

"Excuse me. Do you know Vincent van Gogh?" He tried again with one of the waitresses. She stopped clearing the table she was at and put a hand on her hip.

"Unfortunately." She replied with a sigh.

"Unfortunately?" Amy asked, confused.

"He's drunk, he's mad and he never pays his bills." The waitress rattled off, the other woman shaking her head in agreement.

"Good painter, though, eh?" The waitresses began laughing, the patrons around them who had heard him also joining him. Looking dejected, the Doctor sat down at one of the tables. Danni stood behind him, rubbing his arm comfortingly.

"You have to remember, no one liked him when he was alive." She whispered to him sadly, "They didn't understand his illness, they just thought he was mad." He placed a hand over hers, squeezing it gently.

"Come on! Come on! One painting for one drink. That's not a bad deal." A man urged as he followed the man in the suit outside. The Doctor straightened up with a smile, finally finding Vincent van Gogh. Amy held the guidebook up to her mouth to hide her huge grin and Danni jumped up and down excitedly.

"It wouldn't be a bad deal if the painting were any good." The man in the suit replied, "I can't hang that up on my walls. It'd scare the customers half to death. It's bad enough having you in here in person, let alone looming over the customers day and night in a stupid hat." He held up the painting in question to Vincent's face, inadvertently showing Amy the self-portrait, "You pay money or you get out."

"I'll pay if you like." The Doctor stated, interrupting the argument. The man in the suit looked over at him, exasperated.

"What?" He snapped.

"Well, if you like. I'll pay for the drink. Or I'll pay for the painting and you can use the money to pay for the drink." The Doctor rattled off, Vincent turning slowly to look at him, confused and a bit wary.

"Exactly who are you?" The painter asked suspiciously.

"I'm... new in town." The Doctor settled on.

"Well, in that case, you don't know three things. One, I pay for my own drinks, thank you." Everyone around them, including the man in the suit, laughed and Vincent looked around, losing his nerve for a moment, "Two, no-one ever buys any of my paintings or they would be laughed out of town, so if you want to stay in town, I suggest you keep your cash to yourself. And three, your friend's are cute," Danni shot Amy a grin across the café, Amy looking flattered and smug in equal measure, "but you should keep your big nose out of other people's business." he turned back to the man in the suit, "Come on, just one more drink. I'll pay tomorrow."

"No." The man replied, turning to walk away. Vincent grabbed him to stop him going.

"Or, on the other hand, slightly more compassionately, yes." Vincent prompted hopefully. The man just stared back at him, annoyed.

"Or, on the other hand, to protect my business from madmen, no."

"Or-" Vincent started, pushing the picture against the man's chest.

"Oh, look, just shut up the pair of you!" Amy interrupted them both, now tired of the arguing, "I would like a bottle of wine, please, which I will then share with whomever I choose." She looked at Vincent pointedly as she walked over to them.

"That could be good." Vincent said lowly, now completely taken in by Amy. Danni smiled to herself, when she used to watch this episode the relationship between the two had been her favourite part. She was always happy Amy managed to make the tortured man happy, if only a for a while.

"That's good by me." The man in the suit admitted.

"Good." Amy stalked inside, the suited man following her after giving Vincent his self-portrait back.

"I always said she was good." Danni told the Doctor, who chuckled.

"Poor Vincent." He stated and she nodded.

"He won't know what's hit him."

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor and Amy sat across from Vincent on a table near the edge of the café, Danni squished on the end. Amy and Vincent were enjoying their glasses of wine while Danni and the Doctor nursed theirs, pretending they were drinking. Danni didn't mind the odd glass of wine, and she _never_ turned her nose up at champagne, but she wanted to be fully alert to enjoy this. Vincent v Gogh was sat next to her, albeit staring suspiciously at Amy. It was as if he didn't believe she actually existed, it was adorable.

"That accent of yours. You from Holland like me?" He asked her.

"No." Amy answered at the same time the Doctor answered 'Yes'.

"Yes. She means yes. So, start again. Hello, I'm the Doctor." The Doctor corrected, holding his hand out to the painter.

"I knew it!" Vincent shouted angrily and the Doctor frowned in confusion.

"Sorry?"

"My brother's always sending doctors, but you won't be able to help." Vincent sat back in his chair, shrinking into himself, distrustful of the man.

"No, not that kind of doctor." The Doctor laughed nervously, looking around to try and change the subject. There was a painting by Vincent's side and the Doctor pointed at it, "That's incredible, don't you think, Amy? Danni?" He prompted, both girls nodding enthusiastically.

"Amazing." Danni agreed as it was very pretty, even if it was unfinished.

"Absolutely. One of my favourites." Amy added. Vincent glared at her, still confused and becoming increasingly agitated.

"'One of my favourite' whats? You've never seen my work before." He accused. Amy's eyes went wide and she nodded slowly. She looked over at Danni for inspiration, but Danni just replied with a shrug.

"Ah, yes. One of my favourite paintings that I've ever seen." Amy rambled, picking up her glass of wine, drinking from it, "Generally."

"Then you can't have seen many paintings, then. I know it's terrible. It's the best I could do." Vincent said slowly, studying his own painting for a moment before putting it down and leaning across the table towards Amy, "Your hair is orange." Amy looking taken aback by his statement, then leant forward herself to meet him in the middle.

"Yes. So's yours." She replied.

"Yes. It was more orange, but now is, of course, less." The Doctor rolled his eyes at Vincent's terrible flirting, as if it was painful for him to hear. Danni pouted slightly, twisting a lock of hair around her finger before leaning towards the Doctor.

"My hair's orange too. No one flirts with me because of it." She murmured. The Doctor smiled at her sulking, reaching forward and running a hand through her hair.

"I love your orange hair." He told her sincerely before he pouted as well, "I'm still not ginger." he moaned quietly.

"If you were ginger we'd look like brother and sister." Danni pointed out. He wrinkled his nose at the thought and kissed the side of her head, burying his nose in her hair for just a moment.

"Definitely not ginger then. Unless you change your..." She narrowed her eyes at him and he shook his head nervously, "Okay, not changing your hair..." He turned to Vincent before Danni could reply, "So, Vincent, painted any churches recently? Any churchy plans? Are churches, chapels, religiousy stuff like that, something you'd like to get into? You know, fairly soon?" The Doctor interrogated, wanting to pull himself out of the hole he'd managed to dig himself into. He should have known better than to suggest she changed the colour of her hair, Danni loved her ginger hair, it reminded her of dad, apparently. He wouldn't know, not having met any of her family. He never would, either, which was good thing because family made things complicated. He wanted it to just be him and his Danni-Girl. Well, and Amy too, obviously, but now was not the time of this...

"Well, there is one church I'm thinking of painting when the weather is right." Vincent admitted reluctantly, just wanting to talk to Amy. She was fascinating, so bright and bold. He'd never seen someone glow in the dark like she did, but she also seemed sad, like him.

"That is very good news." The Doctor stated happily, but before anyone could reply a woman screamed, running up to the café shaking and terrified.

"She's been murdered! Help me!" She screamed, throwing her arms up in her distress. The Doctor didn't look away from Vincent, but he did point in her direction.

"That, on the other hand, isn't quite such good news." He grabbed Danni's hand as he stood up, "Come on Danni-Girl, Amy, Vincent!" Amy shot up after the pair, Vincent following after finishing his glass of wine and picking up his hat. They followed the woman and the crowd gathering into an alley, where the body of a young woman was laying on the floor. The Doctor pushed past them all, dragging Danni with him.

"Please, let me look. I'm a doctor." He declared as he made his way over to the girl.

"Who is it?" Another woman shouted. The Doctor's face dropped as he saw the young woman was already dead. He gently but firmly pushed Danni behind him, as if protecting her from the sight.

"Oh, no, no, no." He breathed before he knelt down by the body, Vincent on the other side. They shared a horrified look as Danni looked down at the body, heartbroken. She can't have been more then 18.

"Away, all of you vultures! This is my daughter." Another woman shouted, chucking herself down on the floor next to her daughter and stroking her cheek, "Giselle. What monster could have done this?" She turned to the Doctor, "Get away from her!" She snarled and the Doctor and Vincent jumped back up, the Doctor holding his hands out to reassure her.

"OK, OK."

"Get that madman out of here!" She demanded, picking up a stone a throwing it at Vincent. The crowd followed suit, shouting their blame at Vincent as they began pummelling the foursome with stones. Danni grabbed Vincent's hand and pulled him away down the alley, where they eventually stopped, catching their breath. Amy leant against a wall, the Doctor and Vincent bending over, hands on their knees. Danni rubbed her shoulder where a particularly large stone had bounced off her.

"What a wicked woman!" Danni declared angrily, glaring down the alleyway in the direction they had come. She understood her daughter had died, but that was just cruel. The Doctor lifted up her short sleeve, checking the area the stone had hit, rubbing it gently with the tips of his fingers before turning to look at Vincent.

"Are you all right?" He asked, concerned.

"Yes," Vincent declared, confused by his concern, "I'm used to it."

"Has anything like this murder happened here before?"

"Only a week ago. It's a terrible time." Vincent explained to them. The Doctor nodded to himself slowly as he began walking down the alley, deep in thought but still keeping Danni firmly by his side. Danni couldn't help but smile to herself, she really did miss this.

"As I thought, as I thought." He mused. He looked over his shoulder at Vincent as he paused mid-step, "Come on, we'd better get you home."

"Where are you staying tonight?" Vincent walked up to him as he asked and the Doctor grinned widely, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Oh, you're very kind." He replied happily, he and Danni continuing down the alleyway, joined arms swinging between them. Vincent stared after them, slightly dazed. Amy giggled nervously and he turned to face her, the fake grin on her face falling. She jogged off slightly to catch them up, Vincent putting his hat back on and following a moment later.

_~0~0~0~_

_This is one of my favourite ever episodes, I was so excited to start writing it! I hope you all enjoy it. Nothing really happens in this chapter, but there are a few bits coming up I just love XD_

_I'm glad you all liked the Rose/Danni bonding time. I feel Rose met her early enough that she doesn't get too jealous of her and because, as we've seen from New Earth, the Doctor doesn't exactly like her too much so there's nothing for Rose to be jealous of. _

_I'm trying to get this part to draw to a close, because I'm so excited for Part 2, but I keep thinking of other things to add to it XD _


	29. The Invisible Monster

"Dark night, very starry." The Doctor declared as they headed down a lane lined with small stone houses up to Vincent's home. Danni looked up at the sky with a smile; you could imagine the great painter staring up at a sky just like this as he painted.

"It's not much. I live on my own. But you should be OK for one night. _One_ night." Vincent emphasised, rummaging through his pockets for his matches.

"We're going to stay with him?" Amy asked the Doctor excitedly as they followed Vincent at a more leisurely pace up to his house.

"Until he paints that church." The Doctor confirmed. Vincent lit a lamp outside his front door and removed his hat.

"Watch out. That one's wet." He called as he stepped inside.

"What?" Amy asked as the Doctor followed Vincent inside with a quick glance at the painting hanging at the door. Danni smiled and nudged Amy, who stared in awe at the 'Bedroom in Arles' dangling for all to see. Vincent lit another lamp, illuminating the room inside. The Doctor paused in the doorway, Danni next to him as they looked around at all the paintings stood on display as if they'd been discarded with no thought around the room. Vincent caught their stares and cleared his throat.

"Sorry about all the clutter."

"Some clutter." The Doctor breathed, moving himself and Danni out of the way to let Amy in.

"I've come to accept the only person who's going to love my paintings is me." Vincent continued.

"Wow." Amy stated instantly, trying to look at every painting, "I mean, really. Wow." The Doctor walked over to the painting, pointing them out to Danni as if he couldn't believe they were there.

"Yeah, I know it's a mess. I'll have a proper clear-out. I must, I really must." Vincent left them in the room to go boil some hot water.

"Don't you dare." Danni replied firmly, motioning with her head towards the other room. The Doctor followed her into the kitchen, leaving Amy to study the paintings more closely.

"Coffee, anyone?" Vincent asked as looked for his kettle.

"Not for me, actually." The Doctor replied, "Or for Danni-Girl either. She doesn't need caffeine, she's energetic enough as it is." Danni blushed, embarrassed as he smirked at his words, obviously meaning it to sound exactly as it had come out. She hit him on the arm.

"And how do you know, Spaceman?" She replied but he just placed a kiss on her lips. Vincent placed the coffee down on one of his paintings and the Doctor groaned slightly.

"You know, you should be careful with these. They're..." He paused as Vincent wiped away the wet ring mark off the painting, "precious." He trailed off, sighing in defeat.

"Precious to me. Not precious to anyone else." Vincent replied as Amy appeared in the doorway.

"They're precious to me!" He looked up and smiled softly at her before turning back to his coffee.

"Well, you're very kind. And kindness is most welcome." He told her sincerely.

"Right, so, this church, then. Near here, is it?" the Doctor asked, clapping his hands together as he tried to get the conversation back on track. Danni and Amy may have forgotten about the monster in the painting, but he hadn't.

"What is it with you and the church?" Vincent asked with a laugh as he began grabbing pieces of wood out of the stack by the fire, chucking them in.

"Oh, just casually interested in it, you know." The Doctor replied with a shrug, after all he wasn't trying to alert the man.

"Far from casual. Seems to me. you never talk about anything else. He's a strange one." Vincent told Amy and Danni, who both nodded.

"That is very true." Danni agreed, pulling her tongue out playfully at his offended look.

"OK, so let's talk about you." The Doctor announced loudly, not liking Danni and Vincent bonding over making fun of him, "What are you interested in?"

"Look around." Vincent replied, stopping what he was doing to ponder on his thoughts, "Art. It seems to me there's so much more to the world than the average eye is allowed to see." He looked over at the trio, who were stood together, riveted in spot at his words, "I believe, if you look hard, there are more wonders in this universe than you could ever have dreamed of."

"You don't have to tell me." The Doctor told him gently, pulling Danni closer as he did.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor sat in the wooden chair by the fire, one leg crossed over the other as he listened intently to Vincent as the painter paced around the room, explaining his views on the art he created.

"It's colour!" He exclaimed, "Colour that holds the key! I can hear the colours. Listen to them." He motioned to his ear as he whispered, the Doctor leaning in slightly as if he could also hear it, "Every time I step outside, I feel nature is shouting at me. 'Come on. Come and get me. Come on. Come on'" He grabbed the Doctor's lapels, bringing his face up to his, "'Capture my mystery!'" The Doctor looked over to Danni for help, but she was leaning against the wall, a huge grin on her face as she tried to suppress her laughter at the look on his face. He looked so lost, he obviously had no idea what to do and it was so adorable.

"Maybe you've had enough coffee now." He told Vincent gently, who let go of him in surprise at what he had done, smoothing the lapels back down on the Doctor's jacket, "How about some nice calming tea? Let's get you a cup of chamomile or something, shall we? Amy?"

"She went outside to look at some more paintings." Danni explained as the Doctor looked around for his companion, he hadn't noticed her leaving. Then again, it was hard to focus on anything else with Vincent van Gogh in the room. There was a scream from outside and the Doctor shot up, running past her.

"No, no. NO!" Both Danni and Vincent followed him outside to find her on her knees just outside the doorway.

"What happened?" The Doctor asked her, looking around looking for whatever had attacked her.

"I was having a look at the paintings out here when something hit me from behind." Amy replied breathlessly, not hurt but still very scared. Danni helped her stand up, keeping an arm around her waist for comfort.

"It's OK." The Doctor told her, "He's gone now and we're here."

"I don't think he has." Danni replied, motioning to Vincent who had obviously spotted something, raising his hands up to protect himself.

"No!" Vincent screamed. The Doctor approached him slowly as Vincent began backing away from whatever he had seen.

"Take it easy. Take it easy!" The Doctor coaxed.

"What's happening? What's he doing?" Amy asked, frightened as she looked between the painter and the blank space he was staring at, terrified.

"There's an alien there." Danni told her loudly, hoping that the Doctor was listening, "One only Vincent can see." Vincent grabbed a large, wooden gardening force and brandished it in front of him like a weapon.

"What alien?" The Doctor shouted back as Vincent let out a shout, charging in what appeared to be their direction.

"Move!" Danni shouted in reply instead, it wasn't like she could remember the name of the alien anyway.

"Oh dear." The Doctor exclaimed as all three of them dodged out of the way. Vincent began waving his arm behind him.

"Run. Run!" He commanded and the Doctor nodded, grabbing Danni roughly by the arm and pushing her behind him and away from Vincent. He didn't want her anywhere near the man as he waved that stick around dangerously. He wasn't going to let her get hurt, not again.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's not a bad idea. Amy, Danni-Girl get back. He's having some kind of fit. I'll try to calm him down." Amy moved to take cover in the doorway, while Danni stood where the Doctor had pushed her.

"He's not having a fit! It's an alien!" Danni replied in exasperation as the Doctor stepped towards Vincent.

"Easy, Vincent, easy. Look, look. It's me, it's me, it's me." He held his hands out, "It's the Doctor, look. No-one else is here. So, Vincent..." Danni gasped as she saw a flash of the creature, just black blur in the night behind the Doctor as it lost it's camouflage just for a moment.

"There it is!" Danni screamed, pointing at where she thought it was heading.

"Oh no, not you too Danni. Must be something in the air..." The Doctor mused, now very worried that it might start affecting everyone.

"There's an alien there, you moron!" Danni snapped, annoyed that she once again had to keep repeated herself. Wasn't this version of the Doctor supposed to listen to her?

Before the Doctor could reply, he was thrown to the ground as the creature lashed out at him, swiping him with it's tail. There was a loud roar as both Amy and Danni screamed, Danni dashing over to his side and kneeling down by him as he groaned.

"Are you okay?" She asked, panicking as a painting was slashed almost into pieces.

"I can't see anything. What is it?" Amy shrieked.

"I told you. It's an alien, pay attention Pond!" Danni shouted over as she helped the Doctor sit up.

"But what alien?" Amy shouted back, watching Vincent still trying to fight it off.

"That is a good question." The Doctor told her as he jumped up, grabbing a stick and running to help Vincent, "Let me help you."

"You can see him, too?" Vincent asked, surprised as the Doctor headed in the completely different direction to Vincent, waving the stick around manically.

"Yes. Ish. Well, no. Not really." The Doctor told him before he was thrown over a table, skidding on the floor by Vincent's feet.

"You couldn't see him?"

"No. Oi!" The Doctor scrambled up again and began batting the stick around with a loud battle cry. Vincent, who could actually see the creature, headed straight towards it and stabbed at it, causing it roar and run away. The Doctor, not paying attention, continued to try and battle the creature as Amy stepped out from the doorway and over to the other two redheads, where they watched him fight with the air. Vincent opened his mouth to speak but Danni held up a finger, a huge amused smile on her face.

"Not yet, this is fantastic." She told him and they watched him flail for a moment longer.

"He's gone." Vincent stated and the Doctor stopped and turned to face them.

"Oh, right. Yes, of course." He threw the stick down in embarrassment and they all headed back inside.

"Right. So he's invisible? What did he look like?" He asked Vincent as he sat down in a chair, pulling Danni onto his lap. She let out a yell of surprise, having been heading towards a chair of her own. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, protectively if she had to have put a word to it. She smiled and placed her hand on top of his hand, threading her fingers through his and squeezing reassuringly. He kissed the side of her head, but didn't relax his grip.

"I'll show you." Vincent grabbed a painting of some irises and painted over it in white. The Doctor sat up straighter, leaning Danni over in his surprise.

"Oh, no, no, no!" He cried out as Amy gasped and covered her mouth.

"What?" He asked, looking between the three, confused.

"It's just..." The Doctor replied, "That was quite a good..."He sighed, "On you go." They all watched intently as Vincent quickly sketched the alien in charcoal, revealing the image of a birdlike creature that had a faint look of something also reptilian, appearing to be covered in scales rather than feathery.

"OK. OK." The Doctor nudged Danni off his knee and took the sketch, studying it closely, "Right." He stated authoritatively, "Amy, make Mr van Gogh comfortable. Don't let any invisible monsters in through the front door." He turned to Danni, "Danni-Girl, where do you want to be?" She skipped over and took his hand.

"With you, obviously." She told him with a grin. He smiled back as Amy stalked over, still frightened.

"But it could be outside, waiting." She warned in a whisper, a wave of her hands to illustrate the danger.

"Oh, don't worry. We'll be fine." Danni replied confidently.

"What's the worst that can happen?" The Doctor added, nodding in agreement.

"You could get torn into pieces by a monster you can't see." Amy pointed out.

"And? What's life with a little danger?" Danni retorted with a shrug,

"Exactly. Don't worry. We'll be back before you can say, 'Where've they got to now?'" He pulled Danni out, Amy turning to face Vincent. The Doctor smiled conspiratorially at Danni then popped his head back into the room.

"Not that fast!" He shouted, causing Amy to jump in surprise, "But pretty fast. See you around." He left again, pulling Danni out into the night and down the streets towards the TARDIS.

"So, what do you think?" He asked uncertainly, "A famous painter, 19th Century France, invisible alien creeping around..." Danni shrugged.

"It's fun, never thought I'd meet Vincent van Gogh." Danni admitted, "Could have done without the alien, though. I don't like watching you get hurt, even if you weren't really hurt at all." This had always been true. When she used to settle down for the night, in her pyjamas, to watch either a new episode or a rerun of Doctor Who, she would always wince when he was thrown about. Now she was actually here, she just wanted to run under him and cushion his fall. He paused and turned to her with a soft smile.

"I'm okay." He reassured her gently. She nodded with a frown; she knew he was. Didn't mean she was any happier. He pulled her in for a hug, burying his face in her hair, "I promise."

"I just don't want you going anywhere." She admitted quietly. She knew, rationally, he was fine up to the end of the Ponds and that was another 300 years into his future, but she was always so scared something was going to happen to him and one day she would land somewhere he wasn't around anymore. She was terrified being alone, more than anything she could think of.

"I'm not leaving you." He promised before tilting her face up and placing a gentle kiss on her lips, his hands snaking their way into her hair as he deepened it quickly. She clung to his arms, using them for support as he took her breath away. When he let her go to grab her hand again, she had a goofy grin on her face.

"What I actually meant, though," He continued on from the beginning of their conversation, walking down the alleyway again, "Was would you mum have liked it?" Her brow furrowed.

"My mum?" She asked, confused. He nodded but didn't look back at her.

"It was your mums birthday, I thought we could do something to commemorate it." He replied lightly.

"I thought we were here because Amy can't remember Rory?" She asked him.

"Yes, that as well." He told her, "Rose mentioned you were upset about it, and when you said that's where you'd come from I thought you might want cheering up..." She laughed slightly in disbelief.

"Oh, you impossible man. You just can't help yourself, can you?" She breathed out and he shot her a triumphant smirk over his shoulder as they reached the TARDIS.

"Not when you're concerned." He countered as he let her in. He closed the door behind them and headed up the ramp, "So, would she?" Danni thought for a moment then nodded.

"She would have loved it." She replied, "But she wasn't much of an art fan, if I'm honest. She would have appreciated Vincent, though. Who wouldn't?" He looked back at her from where he was rummaging.

"What does she like?" He asked her, sounding genuinely interested. Danni bit her lip in thought; she liked a lot of things, really. She didn't know where to begin.

"She always liked history." She settled on, "She spent a good few years completing our family tree. She's always watching programs on medieval times. She finds the whole knights and fair maidens thing very appealing." She smiled sadly to herself, "She always said my dad saved her from her first marriage, even though she was divorced before she met him. She would never explain to me why." The Doctor paused and looked over at her.

"She must have thought you didn't need to know." Danni shrugged.

"Now I never will, will I?" The Doctor walked over to her, grabbing her hand and pulling her up to the pilot chair, where he sat down and pulled her onto his lap.

"The thing is," He started slowly, "If you were still there, you wouldn't be here, would you?" She nodded slowly.

"I suppose not." She mumbled.

"And if you weren't here, I'd be on my own. And, I don't want to be on my own. I want to be with you, so... that is to say, I'm glad you're here. Really glad." She smiled as him as he stumbled over his words. He was trying so hard, and he even though he thought he was useless, he had managed to cheer her up with that little muddle of words.

"I'm glad you're not alone either." She told him honestly, kissing him on the cheek before leaning against his shoulder, closing her eyes. He tightened his grip as he hugged her to him firmly, probably worried she was suddenly going to jump away again.

"So," The Doctor drawled, "Are you not into the whole damsel in distress thing?" She sat up straight and smirked slightly.

"It has it's advantages." She admitted as she shifted in his lap so she was sat facing him, one leg on either side of his, "I think I could get used to you saving me on occasion." She ran her hands over his shoulders, clasping them behind his neck and leaning in closer, a flash of a memory from Siluria giving her an idea, "Do you want to save me, Theta?" He eyes widened at the sound of his name and she bit her lip suggestively.

"Danni," he tutted mockingly, "We're here to save Vincent van Gogh, remember?" She moved so that her lips were barely grazing his.

"Time machine." She whispered, her voice slightly husky, "Let's make out." He met her in the middle, happily obliging. Their mouths moved together in harmony, the Doctor using his grip on her hips to pull Danni closer. Danni's hands grasped his hair, feeling it run through her fingers. She loved his hair so much. She moved from his mouth to his neck, suckling the skin there. His grip tightened and a low groan fell from his lips as her tongue darted out, soothing the skin she'd just been pulling tighter. A shiver ran down her spine and she sat up again, pressing against him as she kissed him deeply again.

"Danielle," He whispered, his voice setting her skin alight, "We have to help Vincent."

"Yes, later. First, more kissing." She demanded, not willing to let him get away. He chuckled as he dipped his head, claiming her lips once more.

_~0~0~0~_

Danni stood at the console as the Doctor pulled out a huge trunk on the floor below, chucking random items of clothing and other useless bits and bobs all over the TARDIS floor. She yelled in surprised and ducked as a book came flying at her, but the Doctor didn't notice.

"Right. You in here somewhere? I can't apologise enough. I thought you were just a useless gadget. I thought you were just an embarrassing present from a dull godmother with two heads and bad breath. Twice." He pulled out a device that seemed to be comprised of a large car side mirror joined to a plastic body by two tubes, a harness on it so it could be attached to the user, "How wrong can a man be?" He ran up the stairs and hooked it up to the TARDIS next to her. He pulled a face into the mirror and with a tap of the space bar on a typewriter that was built into the console, an image of the Doctor's first two incarnations printed out with his name and home planet on the top. He then moved Danni in front of the mirror and she smiled uncertainly. He pressed the space bar again and out came a picture of her, declaring her full name 'Danielle Fielding' and her planet of origin as Earth. He showed her the picture and she blushed in embarrassment, yanking it out of his hand and scrunching it up. She hated photos of herself.

"Aww, I wanted to keep that in my wallet." He teased her and she placed her hands on her hips as she turned to him.

"You don't have a wallet. You don't even carry any money." He winked at her and turned back to the machine.

"Good. OK, you're working. Now, see what you make of this." He picked up the sketch of the alien, holding it up to the mirror until it had scanned it before placing it back down again, "Who is that?" The mirror reflected an image of a parrot, "No, I know it's not that. There are thousands of them and you can see them plain as day." It scanned again, this time showing a polar bear, "No. Definitely not. This is the problem with the impressionists - not accurate enough. This would never happen with Gainsborough or one of those proper painters. Sorry, Vincent." He picked up the picture, studying it for a moment before chucking it over his head, "You'll just have to draw something better." Danni shot him a glare and picked up the sketch, balancing it on the console.

"That's an original van Gogh. No one is ever going to see it but us, be careful!" She scolded him lightly. He shot her an innocent smile as he unhooked the machine from the TARDIS.

"Sorry, dear." He replied as he slipped the harness on, the device now hanging against his chest. He grabbed her hand and they walked over to the door, the Doctor stepping out cautiously first. He aimed the mirror over his shoulder and Danni gasped in surprise as the creature suddenly appeared, reflected back at them.

"That's better, old girl. Time-delay, but you always get it right in the end." The Doctor crowed as his fiddled with the controls, "Good. Let's find out who this is, then." The mirror reflected a drawing of the creature and it's details, "Whoa, there you are, you poor thing. You brutal, murderous, abandoned thing. I hope we meet again soon so I can take you home." There was a roar from behind them and the creature reappeared on the mirror, "Maybe not that soon." Danni began pulling him away.

"Just run!" She shouted and he quickly overtook her, becoming the one who was doing the dragging. He had such lanky legs and she could never keep up with him. The Doctor kept glancing into the mirror, checking how close the creature was. He pulled her behind a wall and looked into the mirror again, seeing the creature charging at them. He pushed her forward.

"Run!" He shouted in panic, knocking tables and other items laying in the alley to the ground to try and slow it down. He pulled her behind another wall, watching in the mirror as it seemed to give up, running in another direction away from them.

"It can't see, can it?" Danni panted out, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. He looked down at her, his eyes widening a fraction as she licked her lips.

"What makes you say that?" He asked in reply, he voice slightly higher than normal as he continued to think about her lips.

"Because it was gaining on us, but then ran the wrong way." He looked around the corner, his brows now furrowed in thought. She had a point, why did it run away? He looked back around and screamed as Amy appeared from the side of the building. Danni jumped as the other ginger screamed as well, not expecting that kind of response.

"Never do that! You scared the living daylights out of me." He scolded Amy, who rolled her eyes and leant against the wall never to Danni.

"Sorry. I got bored. As much as you admire his command of colour and shape, it is hard to get fond of Vincent Van Gogh's snoring." Danni let out a snort.

"He snores?" She asked and Amy nodded, annoyed by the mere thought of it.

"Like a fog horn." Amy confirmed.

"Well, that's just not on." The Doctor stated, sounding irritated, "He's got a church to paint, he can't just sleep all day." He took Danni's hand, "Come along, Pond. Time to wake up Vincent van Gogh."

_~0~0~0~_

_Sorry this is up later than I normally like to post my new chapters. You can blame stupid work for that *grr*_

_Seeing the reactions to the last chapter, I'm glad you all liked the newest choice in Danni's story. I do so love Vincent and the Doctor, it's nice to see I'm not the only one :P_

_The fact that this episode wasn't really much about the monster but about character development and exploration is one of the things I love about it. I can't imagine what it must have been like for anyone in that time when they knew something was wrong, but people jsut dismissed them._

_Dearest Lex, was that enough snogging for you? :P_

_Keeping the A/N short and sweet as I'm off for a nap! See ya'll Thursday x_


	30. The Tortured Soul

Vincent was laying in his bed, the sun slowly filtering into his bedroom through the window to signal the next day dawning, the room exactly the same as the painting Amy had spotted as they had headed inside the night before. He had no idea his, for once, peaceful sleep was going to be broken by the Doctor stalking in loudly, startling him away.

"Wakey, wakey. Rise and shine!" The Time Lord cried, heading straight to the window and throwing open the shutters, "Breakfast is served in the courtyard. Whoa! What a morning." He declared as he looked outside before turning to face Vincent, clapping his hands, "Come on." Vincent groaned as he pushed himself up off the bed, "And Amy's got a little surprise for you." Vincent walked over to the window and looked down at the courtyard below, leaning against the frame in surprise and grogginess. Amy sat next to Danni, beaming proudly at the mass of sunflowers she had filled the garden with, all in different mismatch containers.

"I thought I'd brighten things up to thank you for saving me last night." She called up to him.

"Ah!" Was Vincent's less then enthusiastic replied as he took in the red-head in the mass of yellows.

"I thought you might like, you know, possibly to perhaps paint them or something? Might be a thought." Amy continued, gently but firmly prompting the painter. The Doctor joined them at the table, pouring himself a glass of orange juice before handing one over to Danni. She smiled gratefully, sipping at it. She would have preferred a coffee, she hadn't slept in what felt like a couple of days and her brain was becoming slightly fuzzy. It wasn't as bad as it used to be, when she first started missing days of sleep she was a wreck, but then again she'd never really drank caffeine before this universe, and she had to admit it was a lifesaver.

"Yes." Vincent stated, "They're not my favourite flower." The Doctor paused, mid-drink and Amy cocked an eyebrow in disbelief.

"YOU don't like sunflowers?" She asked, a laugh in his voice. Danni leant on her shoulder, closing her eyes and drifting slightly as she listened to them. Amy was very comfortable, maybe she could just get a little nap in...

"No, it's not that I don't like them." Vincent replied, "I find them complex. Always somewhere between living and dying. Half-human as they turn to the sun. A little disgusting." He paused as he studied the flower, images of a new painting exploding in his mind, "But, you know, they are a challenge."

"And one I'm pretty sure you will rise to." The Doctor told him with a smile, tearing his eyes away from Danni who appeared to be falling asleep against his companion, "But, moving on, there's something I need to show you." Vincent nodded, "Freshen up Vincent. Don't rush, it can wait." Vincent eyed him dubiously but turned to head back into his room for a wash. Amy shifted, moving to wake Danni up but the Doctor shushed her. He propped Danni up to let Amy stand then laid her down on the bench. The sleeping girl fussed slightly but didn't wake.

"Let her sleep for a bit, Amy." He whispered, "She'll wake up before we leave anyway."

"It's not like her to just fall asleep." Amy pointed out as they headed back into the kitchen to wait for Vincent to come down from his bedroom.

"She'll spend so much of her time tired, I just want her to sleep while she can." The Doctor replied. Amy frowned.

"Will she? Why?" The Doctor nodded, sitting down on the chair he had sat on yesterday and rubbed his face tiredly.

"Oh Amelia." He muttered, "Poor Danni has so much to come, and she's just barely begun."

_~0~0~0~_

Danni jolted awake as a particularly frisky rooster found his mate for the day, making a noise she had never heard before and really didn't want to hear again. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and feeling slightly disorientated as she found herself surrounded by sunflowers in a courtyard, lying on a wooden bench. She blushed slightly as she realised where she was, partly in embarrassment because of the fact she had drifted off and partly because of the dream she was having while being in Vincent van Gogh's garden. She stood up and brushed her dress down to distract herself from the images still playing in her mind and headed inside, finding the Doctor explaining to Vincent what the creature he had seen was.

"...So, dotted all around the universe are individual, utterly merciless, utterly abandoned Krafayis. And what they do is... Well, kill, until they're killed. Which they usually aren't. Because other creatures can't see them." He explained as he paced in the room. Danni walked over and grabbed his hand, stilling him with a squeeze of her fingers. He smiled fondly at her as Vincent looked up from the image he was holding in his hand, which was the printout from the device the Doctor had used to scan for the alien.

"But I can." He stated. The Doctor nodded as Amy walked away from Vincent's side and sat down across the room from him by some more sunflowers.

"Yes. And that's why we are in a unique position today, my friend, to end this reign of terror. So," The Doctor plonked himself down next to Vincent, "feeling like painting the church today?"

"What about the monster?" Vincent asked worriedly.

"Take my word for it. If you paint it, he will come." The Doctor promised.

"OK. I'll get my things." Vincent stood up with an adventurous grin, waving the image as he headed for the doorway.

"In your own time. I promise you, we'll be out of your hair by this time tomorrow." The Doctor told him. Vincent hesitated in the doorway, the grin falling away as he looked at Amy before heading for his bedroom, "This is risky." He stated once he heard Vincent's door shut, a frown on his face as he shook his head.

"Riskier than normal?" Amy prodded, leaning closer. The Doctor stood up and checked out the door to see if Vincent could hear them before grabbing Danni, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on top of hers.

"Well, think about it." He replied in hushed tones, "This is the middle of Vincent Van Gogh's greatest year of painting. If we're not careful, the result of our trip could be the brutal murder of the greatest artist who ever lived. Half the pictures on the wall of the Musee D'Orsay will disappear." He closed his eyes, burying his nose in Danni's hair for a moment in comfort, "And it will be our fault."

"And you just told the manic depressed man, who has never had anyone like or understand him, that we're leaving tomorrow." Danni pointed out from the Doctor's arms, looking upwards with a worried look on her face.

_~0~0~0~_

Amy and Danni stood at the bottom of the stairs leading the the door to Vincent's room, leaning against the wall anxiously waiting for the Doctor and, hopefully, Vincent to come out. Amy was biting her thumbnail as she glanced up the stairs again, unconsciously copying Danni who was doing the same.

"Will he be okay?" Amy asked her shakily, "I mean, not just now. We have had to have made a difference, right?" Danni shrugged non-committally, knowing that ultimately Vincent was a very ill man who needed more help than they could provide.

"History and the future is complex, who's to say what effect we've had on his life?" Danni replied as the unmistakeable tones of Vincent's voice floated down from the room, his voice loud but the words incomprehensible. The door opened upstairs and closed gently, but no one came down so the two women headed up the stairs.

"What's happening?" Amy asked the Doctor, who was leaning on the small railing surrounding the balcony they were stood on.

"We're leaving." He stated solemnly, "Everyone knows he's a delicate man. Just months from now he'll...he'll take his own life." He hesitated over his words and said them quietly. He pushed off the railings and headed towards the staircase.

"Don't say that. Please." Amy pleaded, her voice breaking. The Doctor stared back at her, just as heartbroken, before continuing down the stairs. Amy followed forlornly, but Danni looked back at the door that shielded Vincent from the outside world. She held her fist up to knock, but thought better of it and opened the door quietly, closing it behind her slowly and watched Vincent sadly as he sobbed uncontrollably on the bed.

"You don't have to talk to me," She started and even though he jumped at her voice, he didn't look around, "and no one is going to force you to do anything you don't want to. But as desperately lonely as you feel, and I know you do feel that way, isn't life supposed to be lived for the moments in the sun rather than the ones in the dark?" She asked. He glared up at her, eyes bloodshot and full of anger.

"Do not pretend you know how I feel." He snapped.

"I'm not, because I don't." She promised, "But if the Doctor is correct, and he generally is, I have lost my family, my friends and my home and I can never go back." She took a shuddering breath, this had been the first time she had admitted out loud that fact that she knew she was never going home, "And that is quite the lonely place to be. We will leave soon, we can't stay because we're all running away from our problems. But you, Vincent, you face yours head on and are the bravest one out of all of us. And if you're brave enough to still paint the beauty of the world after the darkness you have suffered then I think you're brave enough to suffer through us travelling away." She told him honestly. He sat up, eyes still streaming as he studied the girl at the door, only just seeing the sorrow that actually flowed through her. He had sensed Amy had been very sad the moment he had laid eyes on her, and it had intrigued him, but this girl was grieving much more silently than her taller, just as orange-haired friend.

"But what if I'm not?" He whispered, "What if it is to be the end of me?"

"Is it not better to end on a high then drag out a low?" She asked in returned. He couldn't help the laugh that broke from his throat; the simplicity of the statement throwing him out of his rage as had happened so many times before. They could last for minutes or for days, but his moods always left him as quickly as they came.

"You are incredibly wise for someone so young." He told her as he stood up, grabbing his suit jacket off the back of his chair.

"And you're incredibly bright for someone stuck in a place so dull."

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor studied Vincent's 'The Round of Prisoners' one final time before sighing and letting the loose canvas fall from his fingers.

"Come on." He told Amy, a fake smile plastered on his face, "We have to do this on our own. Go to the church at the right time and hope the monster still turns up." He walked over to an old leather suitcase and shut the lid, "Where did Danni hop off to?" Before Amy could answer a shadow fell over the pair. Vincent appeared in the doorway. He had a long overcoat on and his straw hat.

"I'm ready." He stated and they span around, surprised, "Let's go." He picked up a paint brush out a jar full of them. Amy smiled widely at him and walked over, linking onto his arm and talking animatedly to him as she led him out of the room to collect the rest of his equipment. The Doctor stayed and watched Danni come in through the same door Vincent did. She jumped slightly, having not expected him to be staring directly at her.

"What did you do?" He asked her and she shrugged, blushing slightly.

"Tried to make the most unwanted man feel wanted. I think it worked." She replied happily. He laughed and took her hand, spinning her underneath his arm before pulling her in for a kiss. She smirked into the kiss as he backed her up into the wall, getting lost in the moment. His hand grasped at the side of her dress, bunching it up in his hands and she, reluctantly, tapped him hard on the chest. He backed up, flushing slightly but with a smile on his face.

"Vincent." Danni prompted and he jolted, mouth falling open slightly.

"Oh, yes. Of course." He dragged her out after the pair, Danni giggling to herself.

_~0~0~0~_

Amy and Vincent walked side-by-side, each laden down with painting equipment as Danni and the Doctor followed behind them. Amy was studying Vincent out of the corner of her eye as their free arms were linked between them. They were walking down a country lane, a thin dusty track lines with two stone walls as they headed towards the church.

"I'm sorry you're so sad." Amy told him.

"But I'm not." He promised her, "Sometimes these moods torture me for weeks, for months. But I'm good now." He shifted their arms and took hold of her hand, "If Amy Pond can soldier on, then so can Vincent van Gogh."

"I'm not soldiering on. I'm fine." Amy laughed off.

"Oh, Amy," He told her lowly, "I hear the song of your sadness. You've lost someone I think." The Doctor pulled Danni slightly closer to his side and she squeezed his hand reassuringly. Thinking of Rory made him more determined to make sure she wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm not sad." Amy insisted.

"They why are you crying?" Amy's hand shot to her cheek to wipe a tear away. She looked at her fingertips, surprised then up at Vincent, "It's all right. I understand."

"I'm not sure I do." She admitted, and she didn't. She had found herself feeling so incredibly sad, and she couldn't work out why. Her heart would ache for something but she didn't think anything was missing in her life. She had her Raggedy Man, his Danni-Girl and their big blue box. What could possibly be missing out of her life that made her want to curl up and cry?

"It's amazing how much he can actually see." Danni stated, drawing the Doctor's attention from the pair and back to her, "Straight into her soul, where even she can't reach."

"He truly is remarkable." The Doctor agreed.

"The second most remarkable man I know." She smiled up at him and he looked back down at her, confused. She rolled her eyes and nudged him, "It's you, ya silly Time Lord." She teased. He grinned and sped up slightly, catching up to the couple in front of them.

"OK. OK!" He repeated louder to grab their attention, "So, now, we must have a plan. When the creature returns..." Vincent stopped and turned to face the Doctor.

"Then we shall fight him again." He interrupted, his voice hard and serious. The Doctor stared back at him in surprise at his outburst.

"Well, yes, tick." He ticked the air, "But last night we were lucky. Amy could have been killed. So this time, for a start, we have to make sure I can see him, too."

"And how are we meant to do that, suddenly?" Amy exclaimed.

"As always, Amelia, the answer is in a box." Danni replied, motioning to the case the Doctor was carrying. The Doctor tapped it.

"I had an excellent, if smelly, godmother." The Doctor began to walk off down the road again. Danni rolled her eyes at him.

"She had two heads apparently." Danni elaborated, but Amy didn't seem any more convinced. They followed him for a moment until a funeral procession came into view, lead by a man holding a large golden cross. The coffin being carried by the pallbearers had a bunch of sunflowers resting on it.

"Oh, no." Vincent breathed, devastated, "It's that poor girl from the village." They pulled over to the side of the road, Vincent taking off his hat and they all bowed their heads as they passed by. The mother spared them a glance but continued following her daughter to her final resting place. Danni sniffed, wiping her eyes free of the tears that had built up there. God, that poor girl.

"You do have a plan, don't you?" Amy asked the Doctor.

"No." He stated before setting off down the track again, "It's a thing - it's like a plan, but with more greatness."

"That means definitely not." Danni added, her quip missing it's usual teasing tone. He wrapped an arm around her waist and she leant against him as they walked on, "What's the point of me if I can't save anyone?" She whispered.

"Oh Danielle." The Doctor sighed, "You're not here to save everyone else."

"Then why I am here?" She asked.

"To save me." He replied instantly and honestly. She looked up at him and saw the deeply sad look on his face, showing every lost he had ever felt, "You are my only remaining friend, and the only person in my life that doesn't leave. I have lost so many, but every time you appear it's as if I have _found_ you all over again." She felt her heart swell at his words, the feeling of being that loved filling her completely. Sometimes he just said some wonderful words that reminded her just why she loved him.

_~0~0~0~_

Vincent stabbed his easel into the ground outside the church with a grunt, sitting down on his collapsible chair as the Doctor helped him set up his paints.

"And you'll be sure to tell me if you see any, you know, monsters." The Doctor reminded him as he bent down over his shoulders, his hands clasped on either one. Vincent rolled his eyes and looked up at him.

"Yes. While I may be mad, I'm not stupid." He pointed out. The Doctor looked suitably abashed and nodded.

"No, quite. And, to be honest..."He squatted down by Vincent who dabbed his brush in the first splash of paint, "not sure about mad either. It seems to me depression is a very complex..."

"Shh." Vincent scolded, "I'm working."

"Well, yes." Vincent nodded encouragingly as the Doctor mirrored the action, "Paint. Do painting!" Danni and Amy shared an amused look.

"'Do painting'?" Danni echoed. The Doctor shot her a glare as he stood next to her, slightly embarrassed to be pulled up on his grammar.

"Shut up."

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor paced backwards and forwards as Amy and Danni watched Vincent colour the sky in behind his outline of the church.

"I remember watching Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. Wow! What a whinger. I said to him, 'If you're scared of heights, you shouldn't have taken the job.'"

"Shh!" Amy scolded him and he pouted, his story not getting the attention it deserves. Danni realised she would have normally humoured him, but it was _Vincent van Gogh_, who could say they got to see the master at work?

_~0~0~0~_

Dusk was slowly falling over the area as Vincent began adding detail to the colour of the sky, a multitude of blues and blacks filling the canvas in a way only the great painter could. The Doctor walked over and clasped a hand on either of his arms.

"And Picasso. What a ghastly old goat. I kept telling him, 'Concentrate, Pablo, it's one eye, either side of the face.'"

"Quiet." Danni commanded firmly as Vincent tensed under his touch, obviously becoming irritated with the Doctor's constant interruptions. He folded his arms, walking off and sitting on the ground in a huff. Why was Danni paying Vincent so much attention anyway? _He_ wasn't the one with the bigger-on-the-inside blue box who could take her anywhere she wanted. _He_ wasn't the one whose time line she followed. She should be listening to his stories, not staring at a man painting.

He shook his head, his mood deflating slightly, she was only being interested. She was always curious, and he was just acting like a child.

She liked it when he was childish, it made her laugh. Maybe he should tell her the joke about the Space Weevil and the nun...

_~0~0~0~_

Night fell over the church but Vincent continued to paint despite the sun having long since set, his lamp the only source of light he had. Amy and Danni still watched him, completely engrossed in his technique as the Doctor squatted on the floor, a pout now permanently plastered on his face.

"Is this how time normally passes? Really slowly. In the right order." He stood up and walked over to them.

"Not for me." Danni replied off-handedly. It still amazed her how quickly she had fallen into jumping around time and space, it almost felt like this was how she should have always lived her life. The only thing that truly annoyed her about it was the fact she couldn't decide when she was going to jump, otherwise it could be quite fun. That and the lack of sleep. She stifled a yawn as she continued to watch Vincent paint; yes, the lack of sleep was a pain. But, they were nearing the end and she could go to bed. And dream of the Doctor again...

"If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an unpunctual alien attack." The Doctor raged as he stormed passed them. Danni rolled her eyes and patted Amy on the shoulder.

"I've got this." She told the girl-who-waited, who nodded and continued to watch Vincent uninterrupted. Danni followed the Doctor over to where he was stood, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently .

"What's wrong?" She asked him gently, wrapping around his arm with a smile.

"There's something not right and I can't quite put my finger on it." He told her quietly before looking down at her, "Do you know what?" She nodded slightly.

"I suppose so, yeah." She admitted, "I can tell you, if you like?" She looked up at him questioningly and he studied her for a moment with a thoughtful frown before shaking his head, laughing slightly.

"No, don't." He replied, "I'll figure it out, and then you can correct me." She nodded slowly, looking over at the church then back at him.

"Are you sure?" The Krafayis didn't deserve to die, it was just scared but the Doctor had said they were merciless. If they saved it then it might just go on to kill more innocent young girls like the one from the village.

"There." Vincent called, interrupting their conversation. The pair turned around as he pointed towards the church with his paintbrush, "He's at the window."

"Where?" The Doctor asked, looking at them all with a worried look on his face.

"There, on the right."

"As I thought. Come on." He told Danni as he ran over to Vincent and Amy, "I'm going in." He stated as he bent down and fiddled with the old suitcase, shutting it with a slam.

"Well, I'm coming, too." Vincent declared, quickly packing up his things.

"No!" The Doctor shouted, horrified. Vincent stared at him in shock as he held up a hand to stop him coming any closer, "You're Vincent van Gogh. No."

"But you're not armed." Vincent replied confused.

"I am." The Doctor assured him.

"What with?"

"Overconfidence and this." The Doctor tapped the case with a happy smile of his face.

"Don't forget your screwdriver." Danni pointed out and he nodded, pointing at her in thanks.

"And a small screwdriver. I'm absolutely sorted. Just have to find the right crosactic setting, and stun him with it. Sonic never fails. Anyway, Amy," The Doctor approached her, a deadly serious look on his face, "only one thought, one simple instruction - don't follow me under any circumstances. The same goes for you Danni, do not follow me." He motioned to his eyes then at Vincent, telling the painter to keep an eye on the girls.

"I won't." Amy told him, her voice sounding sincere to go with the sombre look on her face. The Doctor shot her a thumbs-up, then grabbed Danni's hand, placing a kiss on it. He headed towards the church as the trio watched. When he was a safe distance away Danni looked up at Amy.

"I think he actually believed you." She praised and Amy nodded, a smile breaking out on her face.

"Will you follow him?" Vincent asked and Amy nodded.

"Of course." She replied as if it was obvious. He stared at her, looking bewildered by her.

"I love you." He told her honestly. Amy smiled gently at him, unaware of the sad look that appeared in her eyes.

"But not yet." Danni explained, "We've got to give him a fighting chance, otherwise he'll never do anything on his own."

"The monster?" Vincent asked and Danni shook her head.

"No, the Doctor." She clarified before taking Amy's hand in hers, squeezing it reassuringly. The poor girl was looking nervous, but she wasn't sure if it was because of the Doctor or because Amy had once again felt so sad but didn't know why.

_~0~0~0~_

_This episode has turned out to be four chapters, which is longer than I thought it was going to be XD I hope you enjoyed sleepy Danni, poor girl doesn't really land during the night and if she does there's so much going on it mayaswell be day lol_

_Can you believe it? 30 chapters?! What the hell? How did I manage to stick with something so long? :P I'm only teasing, I've got plenty more coming so don't you fret my pretties._

_Reviews have been awesome, as always. Your kinds words always make my day, so thank you again. I know this part gets kinda repetitive, but I'm always going to be grateful so get used to it XD_

_I'm glad you all enjoyed the Danni/Doctor moment. Now she's feeling more comfortable with the Doctor, these will be happening more often. But, she'll have to go back to Ten sometime *evil laugh*_

_Hehe, River's role in this story is going to very slowly unravel itself. It may be because of all the 11/Danni but it might not be. I couldn't possibly comment on that._

_I'm glad you think it's unpredictable. That's what I was trying to achieve, so i hope I can keep it up._

_And Lex, yes you are correct. They both want it, don't they? But, if I just did what they wanted nothing would ever get done XD_


	31. The Pile of Good Things

Amy paced nervously, biting her thumb as she continued to glance up at the window in the church. Vincent was focused on it, staring intently at the monster to make sure it didn't move. Danni stood to his left, concerned about the Doctor even though she knew he would be okay. Should be okay. God, she hoped he was okay.

"Has he moved?" Amy asked Vincent, pausing and looking at the man.

"No," She frowned and began pacing again, "just shifted to the next window. But, wait!" She span to face him, alarmed, "He's turning now." He told her frantically. Amy ran over and grabbed his hand.

"Maybe we should head in now." Danni suggested shakily. Amy nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds..." She was interrupted by the sound of the Doctor yelling in pain.

"Doctor!" Danni screamed, running off towards the church.

"Danni!" Amy cried in surprise, following her.

"Amy!" Vincent looked around, looking for something, anything he could use to defend Amy Pond, before spotting his own chair. He chucked off his coat and belt, picked it up and followed them in.

_~0~0~0~_

"Doctor!" Danni screamed again, heading into the building and almost running straight into the man in question. He screamed in surprise, obviously not expecting anyone else to be in the building.

"Argh! I thought I told you..." He began to scold her as Amy came barrelling around to meet them, but trailed off as Danni threw her arms around him hugging him tightly, "Never mind. We'll talk about it later. Quick, in here." He grabbed her hand and the three ran over to a confessional, Amy climbing in one chamber and Danni and the Doctor in the other. Danni sat on his lap, stiff as a board as the Krafayis moved around outside.

"Absolutely quiet." He whispered. Amy was breathing heavily, scared of the invisible creature. The Doctor lifted the curtain, covering them both in light before glaring slightly at the grill separating the two compartments. He slid it up, startling Amy slightly, "Can you breath a little quieter, please?"

"No!" She whispered back.

"Rude!" Danni hissed at him, smacking his arm gently. And he'd been getting so much better. Amy lifted her curtain up, peering outside.

"He's gone past." She told them.

"Shh." The Doctor held a finger to his lips. There was silence as they all sat there, the Doctor's arms wrapped around Danni's waist as he held her in place. Then, suddenly, there was a loud growl from the Krafayis which blew in part of the grating on Amy's side. She screamed in both fear and surprise.

"I think he heard us." He stated lowly.

"You think?" Danni snapped back. Part of the grating on their side was smacked in, Danni screaming as well as covering her face.

"That is impressive hearing he's got." The Doctor said as a hole appeared above his shoulder. He shielded Danni from the debris, "What's less impressive are our chances of survival." The confessional shook as the Krafayis tried to break it open. Amy screamed again.

"Hey, are you looking for me, sonny?" Vincent shouted boldly from outside. The Doctor grinned and kissed the top of Danni's head, "Come on. Over here. Because I'm right here waiting for you." Danni stood up and slowly opened the door, seeing Amy doing the same on the other side. She shot her a shaky smile as they watched Vincent fighting thin air. His hat fell off and he looked over at them. He motioned behind himself.

"Come on. Quickly! Get behind me." They all ran behind him as he continued weilding a chair like a lion tamer. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and waved it at where he thought the beast was, setting it off with a high-pitched screech.

"Doing anything?" He asked Vincent, who shook his head. He motioned back again at they headed out into the church's courtyard.

"Where is he?" The Doctor asked.

"Where do you think he is, you idiot? Use your head." The Krafayis roared and it's footsteps echoed in the small space. The Doctor waved his sonic in it's general direction again.

"Anything?"

"Nothing." Vincent told him, "In fact, he seemed to rather enjoy it." The Doctor looked at his screwdriver, a grimace on his face.

"Kinky." Danni commented, "I like it."

"Danni!" The Doctor groaned as the Krafayis roared again. Vincent began turning in a circle and the trio followed him.

"Duck." He shouted and Danni and the Doctor fell to the ground, "Left." The pair headed left but the monster swatted them both, sending them into a wall. Amy screamed as they landed on the floor with a thud.

"Right, sorry." Vincent apologised. Danni groaned, holding her head in pain from where it had slammed into the wall. The Doctor held his side as he turned to look at her and gasped, seeing a trickle of blood coming from her hairline. Amy crouched down by them as Vincent covered them with the chair, "Your right, my left."

"Next time get them right!" The Doctor snapped angrily, taking out one of his handkerchiefs the wipe the blood of her forehead. How hard is it to get your right and left the right way around? The creature could have done so much more damage than it did. If anything happened to his Danni-Girl...

"He didn't mean it." Danni replied firmly, taking the cloth and holding it to her head. Oh, this was going to smart tomorrow. The Doctor nodded, his anger deflating slightly at her look.

"Yes, right. Sorry Vincent." He stated lowly, calming down. She was right, he had just been trying to help. He saw her flinch as she dabbed her head and he tensed, his anger rising again. He shook his head, now was not the time to get worked up, "This is no good at all. Run like crazy and regroup." He scrambled up, helping Danni stand. She swayed slightly so she gripped onto him tightly to steady herself.

"Oh, come on, in here." Amy replied and headed for another door. Vincent dropped the chair and they followed her in, each of them holding the door to try and force it shut. The Krafayis fought against their barricade. Vincent looked down and stamped on what Danni guessed was his foot.

"Out!" He shouted and they managed to close the door. They turned to lean against the door.

"Right. OK. Here's the plan. Amy, Rory." The Doctor started.

"Who?" Amy asked, confused. He stared at Danni, eyes wide at his stumble and she motioned to herself. He turned back to Amy.

"Sorry, um, Danni and Vincent." He corrected himself.

"What is the plan?" Amy demanded.

"I don't know, actually. But in future, I'm just using this screwdriver for screwing in screws." He placed his screwdriver back into his pocket.

"Give me a second. I'll be back." Vincent told them. He looked both ways before running off without any explanation.

"I suppose we could try talking to him." The Doctor suggested.

"Talking to him?!" Amy exclaimed, exasperated. Of course that's what he'd suggest.

"Well, yes. Might be interesting to know his side of the story."The Krafayis growled from the other side of the door, "Yes, though maybe he's not really in the mood for conversation right at this precise moment." Amy nodded in agreement, her lips pursed together as the Krafayis banged on the door, "Well, no harm trying. Listen. Listen!" The growling stopped and the Doctor turned to place both hands on the door, as if he was reaching out to the creature, "I know you can understand me. Even though I know you won't understand why you can understand me. I also know that no-one's talked to you for a pretty long stretch, but please... listen. I also don't belong on this planet." He swallowed, squeezing his eyes shut, "I also am alone. If you trust me, I'm sure we can come to some kind of, you know, understanding. And then, and then, who knows?" Danni reached out and hugged him around the waist. He rubbed a hand against her back as there was silence for a moment until the window behind them shattered, the Krafayis finding a way inside the room. It roared loudly and the Doctor spun Danni around into Amy, shielding them both from the shattered glass. Danni's head spun and she gripped him tighter, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Over here, mate!" Vincent shouted as he ran back in brandishing his easel. The Doctor helped her run behind the painter, Amy on the other side ready to catch her if she stumbled.

"What's it up to now?" The Doctor asked him as they moved behind a pillar in the middle of the room.

"It's moving round the room. Feeling its way around." Vincent explained as he watched the creature move around. He lead Amy over to a sarcophagus and the pair crouched down behind it as the Doctor frowned, keeping a grip on Danni behind the pillar. Did he have to keep shaking her? It was making her nauseous.

"What?" He exclaimed, looking where the creature was leaving a trail of items strewn across the floor.

"It's like it's trapped. It's moving round the edges of the room."

"I can't see a thing." Amy whispered, frustrated.

"I am really stupid." The Doctor muttered with a groan.

"Oh, get a grip!" Amy snapped at him, "This is not a moment to re-evaluate your self-esteem."

"No, I am really stupid and I'm growing old." He looked down at Danni, "And I'm still not listening to you, am I?" Danni frowned at him, wincing at the movement of her head. He lifted the handkerchief up, the bleeding had seemed to have stopped but there was a small bump.

"What do you mean?" She asked him.

"Why does it attack, but never eat its victims?" He helped her over to Vincent and Amy, letting her sit down on the floor, "And why was it abandoned by its pack and left here to die? Why is it feeling its way helplessly around the walls of the room? It can't see, it's blind." He summarized, "And you told me that, in the alley by the TARDIS. That explains why it has such perfect hearing!" He shouted. The Krafayis growled again.

"Which unfortunately also explains why it is now turning around and heading straight for us." Vincent replied, hit teeth clenched in fright. He stood up, holding the sharp point of the easel out in front of him like a weapon.

"Vincent. Vincent, what's happening?" The Doctor asked as he and Amy jumped up, Danni staying behind the sarcophagus.

"It's charging now." Vincent told him, motioning behind him, "Get back. Get back!"

"No, don't." Danni whimpered, knowing what was going to happen next. The Doctor looked down at her, confused to see her crying as Vincent moved forward with a yell, impaling the creature with the sharp point. He dangled in the air for a moment before letting go and falling to the floor. The creature fell to the floor, the easel pointing upwards. Amy helped Danni up as they, the Doctor and Vincent approached it. Vincent took his hat up as his lip trembled to match the tears in his eyes.

"He wasn't without mercy at all. He was without sight. I didn't mean that to happen. I only meant to wound it, I never meant to..." The Doctor knelt down by the creature as Amy held onto Vincent's arm in comfort.

"He's trying to say something."

"What is it?" Vincent asked.

"I'm having trouble making it out..."

"'I'm afraid'." Danni whispered, sniffing and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, "He's saying 'I'm afraid'." The Doctor reached out and stroked the body, only being able to feel the creature.

"There, there. It's OK. You'll be fine. Ssh." The creature let out a final breath and died. Danni sobbed and the Doctor sighed, holding his head in his hands.

"He was frightened…and he lashed out." Vincent murmured as the Doctor stood up, stalking over to Danni and pulling her in for a hug. The girl clung to him tightly and he stroked her hair in comfort, "Like humans, who lash out when they're frightened. Like the villagers who scream at me. Like the children who throw stones at me." Amy grabbed Vincent's hand, not knowing what else to do.

"Sometimes winning - winning is no fun at all." The Doctor decided before walking Danni out and away from the creature.

_~0~0~0~_

The wind had picked up outside as they foursome laid down in a field, their head together in a circle. Vincent grabbed Amy's hand and then reached out for the Doctor's.

"Hold my hand, Doctor. Try to see what I see. We are so lucky we are still alive to see this beautiful world." Vincent told them. The Doctor grabbed Danni's hand, who in turn grabbed Amy's to complete the circle. "Look at the sky. It's not dark and black and without character. The black is in fact deep blue." He motioned above them with the Doctor's hand, "And over there, lighter blue. And blowing through the blueness and the blackness, the wind swirling through the air and then, shining, burning, bursting through - the stars! Can you see how they roar their light? Everywhere we look, the complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes." The trio stared up as they could almost see his painting 'Starry Night' superimposed over the sky.

"I've seen many things, my friend. But you're right. Nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see." Vincent tightened his grip on the Doctor's hand, holding it to his chest. He held Amy's above his head, studying her fingers closely as if committing them to memory.

"I will miss you terribly." He stated sadly.

_~0~0~0~_

"I only wish I had something of real value to give you." Vincent told them as they stood in his kitchen. The Doctor giggled as he held the 'Self Portrait with Straw Hat' in his hands, turning to Amy who had her hand over her mouth to hide her grin. Danni smiled at the pair, too tired to join in with their joy. The Doctor held it up to Vincent's head, comparing the two.

"Oh, no, no. I could never accept such an extraordinary gift." He handed it back. Vincent looked down at it with a frown, then shrugged.

"Very well. You are not the first to decline the offer." He placed the painting down roughly, the Doctor waving his hands in panic but the painting was fine. Vincent held his arms out, "Amy, the blessed, the wonderful." They hugged each other tightly, placing kisses on each others cheeks.

"Be good to yourself and be kind to yourself." She told him.

"I'll try my best." He promised.

"And maybe give the beard a little trim before you next kiss someone." She rubbed her cheek and the both laughed.

"I will. I will. And if you tire of this Doctor of yours, return, And we will have children by the dozen." Amy's eyes widened as he motioned to the Doctor.

"Eek!" She replied, not sure what else to say. Vincent then turned to Danni.

"And my guiding star, Danni." They hugged tightly and when she stepped back she held onto both his hands.

"It was an honour and a pleasure to be in the story of your life, Vincent. Be sure to remember me when you pass it on." She told him.

"Your name is written across the stars, you don't need me." He replied and she shook her head.

"Yes I do." He smiled widely at the sincerity in her voice before finally turned to the Doctor.

"Doctor, my friend." The Doctor held his hand out for Vincent to shake, but he just held it in his own, "We have fought monsters together and we have won. On my own, I fear I may not do as well." Vincent admitted, his expression now sombre. The Doctor stared back, not knowing what to say as he knew he wouldn't, and then hugged him tightly.

"Nah." He brushed off lightly, trying to reassure him.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor, Amy and Danni walked off, Danni in the middle holding onto their hands tightly. The Doctor kept glancing back at Vincent's house, a thoughtful frown on his face while Amy was smiling to herself.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" The Doctor stated suddenly.

"I was thinking I may need some food or something before we leave." Amy replied. The Doctor paused, stopping Danni and therefore Amy in their tracks.

"Well, no, you're not thinking exactly what I'm thinking." He shot her an incredulous look before he turned to the house, "Vincent!" Shirtless, and with a brush in his mouth, Vincent leant out of his window, "Got something I'd like to show you. Maybe just tidy yourself up a bit first." Vincent nodded and ducked back in.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor led Amy, Danni and Vincent down the alley towards the TARDIS, Amy linked to Vincent through his arm while Danni used the Doctor to hold herself up. Not much longer now.

"Now, you know we've had quite a few chats about the possibility there might be more to life than normal people imagine?" The Doctor groaned when he saw the TARDIS covered in posters for some upcoming performance in the village.

"Yes?" Vincent replied slowly.

"Well, you may want to brace yourself." Danni replied. The Doctor nodded and sliced down the middle of the posters with his key so he could open the door. They all moved out of the way and let Vincent enter first so he could see the vastness inside. He stuck his head out to examine the exterior as they giggled at his reaction before stepping back inside.

"How come I'm the crazy one and you three have stayed sane?" The Doctor stepped in after him and took off his hat, placing it on the coat rack at the doorway as Amy laughed outright. They headed up to the console, the Doctor swinging Danni's hand, "What do these things all do?" Vincent asked, staring at the array of levers and buttons and... was that a typewriter?

"Oh, a huge variety of things. This one here," The Doctor turned a know and music began playing throughout the TARDIS, "for instance, plays soothing music." He grabbed Danni and began waltzing exaggeratedly with her before passing her to Amy, where the two women danced together, "While this one makes a huge amount of noise." He flipped a lever and the TARDI was filled with a loud noise that drowned out the music for a moment, causing Vincent to cover his ear in pain, "And this one makes everything go tonto." The TARDIS began shaking wildly as they took off into the vortex, spinning into the future. Amy and Danni laughed as they clung to each other and tried to keep upright, while Vincent stumbled around, grabbing onto the monitor to finally straighten himself up. He couldn't help the chuckle that passed his lips, this was so bizarre!

"And this one?" Vincent asked, pointing at something on the console. The Doctor jumped and reached over, batting his hand away in panic.

"That's a friction contrafibulator!" He cried and Vincent stepped back from it, pointing at something else.

"And this?"

"Ketchup!" Danni cried, happy she knew what one of the controls did, "The one next to it is mustard. I've tried to get a mayonnaise one installed but _he_," She motioned to the Doctor, "doesn't like it." The Doctor pulled a face.

"Who does?"

"I do." Danni replied, "And I want access to it whenever I have chips."

"Mmm. Nice!" Vincent interrupted their argument, reaching over and gripping the Doctor's shoulders, "Come on. Back to the café and you can tell me about all the wonders of the universe." Amy shook her head frantically at the Doctor, who was unsure what to say.

"That's a good idea, isn't it?" Danni stated loudly, "But I thought there was something else you wanted to show him first?" The Doctor pointed at her, relieved.

"Yes, you're right! Outside, if you would Vincent." He clapped his hand on Vincent's arm, manoeuvring him outside into the streets of Paris. It was Amy's present day and they were parked outside the Musee D'Orsay.

"Where are we?" Vincent asked, looking around confused at the people bustling by. It was lightly snowing and a police car zoomed past with it's siren on, causing Danni to wince at the noise. Did no one appreciate she had a headache?

"Paris. 2010 AD. And this is the mighty Musee D'Orsay, home to many of the greatest paintings in history." The Doctor explained.

"Oh, that's wonderful." Vincent smiled then sated in wonder as two men walked past with a portable radio playing music. The Doctor waved it off.

"Ignore that. I've got something more important to show you." They headed into the building, Vincent staring at all the statues and sculptures in appreciation as they headed up the main staircase. Amy led Vincent up past a large bronze statue, which the Doctor paused at and copied it's pose. Danni laughed and joined him. He grinned and kissed her on the side of the head before leading her up to meet Amy and Vincent. They headed through to where paintings by the greats such a Monet and Rodin hung, the Doctor having to drag Vincent away from one of the 'Water Lilies' series by Monet. They entered the van Gogh exhibit and they smiled gently as he looked around, his face slowly showing the shock he felt as he saw children and adults alike admiring the paintings that he couldn't even give away back home. He turned in a slow circle, taking it all in before his gaze fell back onto the trio who had brought him here. The Doctor held his arms out, motioning to everything in the room. Amy smiled to herself, she knew this was going to change everything. Danni pulled on the Doctor's sleeve and pointed at Dr Black from their last visit. He walked over and placed an arm around the lectures shoulders.

"Dr Black, we met a few days ago. I asked you about the church at Auvers." He explained as he pulled him away from a small crowd. Amy and Danni walked Vincent a bit closer.

"Oh, yes. Glad to be of help." Danni appeared at the Doctor's side and Dr Black smiled at her, "You were nice about my tie." She nodded.

"I was, and today's is simply stunning." She made a frame with her hands, boxing the tie off from the rest of him and he grinned.

"But we just wondered, between you and me and Danni-Girl here, in 100 words, where do you think Van Gogh rates in the history of art?"

"Well, big question. But, to me, Van Gogh is the finest painter of them all." Dr Black answered honestly, Vincent hearing every word as he began to tear up, "Certainly, the most popular, great painter of all time, the most beloved. His command of colour, the most magnificent. He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty. Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world - no-one had ever done it before. Perhaps no-one ever will again. To my mind, that strange, wild man who roamed the fields of Provence was not only the world's greatest artist, but also one of the greatest men who ever lived." Vincent began to openly sob, the Doctor finally noticing his reaction. The smile on his face dropped as he walked over and rubbed his back.

"Vincent. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Is it too much?" He gave him a comforting hug as Vincent shook his head.

"No. They are tears of joy."Vincent told him before he walked over to Dr Black, kissing him on both cheeks then hugging him, "Thank you, sir. Thank you."

"You're welcome. You're welcome." Dr Black replied, utterly confused as Vincent broke away. His mind fell on Amy's words before and he rubbed his face.

"Sorry about the beard." He apologised as he joined Amy, the Doctor and Danni. Amy and Doctor began to lead Vincent out of the exhibit as Danni watched Dr Black walk off, stop and turn to look at where Vincent had been before shaking his head in disbelief and heading back to his lecture.

_~0~0~0~_

The TARDIS reappeared back in a field in 19th century France, Vincent stepping out first with a smile on her face and his hat in his hands.

"This changes everything." He told them excited, "I'll step out tomorrow with my easel on my back a different man." He turned to Danni, who was so tired that she had to lean on the TARDIS for fear of falling over, "I still can't believe that one of the haystacks was in the museum. How embarrassing." She giggled, interrupting herself with a yawn.

"It's been a great adventure and a great honour." The Doctor told him honestly before shaking his hand. He then pulled him into a hug, patting him on the back purposefully.

"You've turned out to be the first doctor ever actually to make a difference to my life." Vincent told him incredulously and the Doctor laughed.

"I'm delighted. I won't ever forget you." He held Vincent's face in his hands for a moment before walking over to Danni, pulling out his key to let them back in again.

"And you are sure marriage is out of the question?" Vincent asked Amy one last time. She smiled at him then pulled him into a tight embrace.

"This time."She leant in closer, "I'm not really the marrying kind." She whispered in his ear, a feeling deep in the pit of her stomach that this really wasn't true. She brushed it off as she kissed him on the cheek and headed back into the TARDIS, "Come on. Let's go back to the gallery right now." She exclaimed, shutting the door behind her. Danni made her way to the pilot chair, sharing a sad look with the Doctor who knew just as much as she did that while they had made a difference to his life, the outcome was still always going to be the same. She sat down on the seat and by the time the TARDIS had landed in 2010, she had fallen asleep.

_~0~0~0~_

"Danni." A voice called to her in from in the darkness, "Danni, wake up." She groaned and batted a hand away that brushed a lock of her hair out of her face. Her eyes fluttered open and after a moment of disorientation she realised she was still curled up on the pilot seat in the TARDIS. The Doctor was crouched down beside her, an amused look on his face as she rubbed her eyes.

"Did I fall asleep _again_?" She asked with a groan and he nodded as he helped her stand up.

"Let's get you to bed." He told her as clung to him, wobbly and still feeling very tired. She managed to smirk at him though, looking up at him through her lashes.

"Oo, what would neighbours think?" She teased and he blushed.

"That's... that's not what I meant." He stuttered out and she giggled, a huge yawn once again interrupting her. This whole not-sleeping nonsense was getting out of hand. She was going to have to have words with each of his other selves, they needed to let her sleep once in a while.

"I'm only teasing you." She replied as they headed to her room, the TARDIS bringing it closer for the sleepy girl, "Besides, you couldn't handle me." He laughed at the certainty in her voice and opened the door for her.

"You've been very flirty with me lately, Danielle." He mock scolded her, "Anyone would think you fancied me." She smiled innocently up at him.

"Whatever do you mean, Theta?" She replied, stating his name firmly before biting her lip suggestively. He swallowed as his eyes fell to her lips, but instead of kissing her he tapped her on the nose.

"_You_ need to sleep." He commanded gently and she sighed in disappointment.

"Fine." She grumbled. He kissed her on both cheeks then turned to walk away, "I'm just happy to spend time with a version of you I don't have to convince to trust me." She told him. He spun back around, confused, "That's why I've been all over you." She clarified, "I'm enjoying a Doctor who likes me back, I like the fact you want to kiss me." She blushed slightly at her admission and he walked over, now the one who was smirking.

"I can't resist those lips." He murmured. He placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head up, gently touching his lips to hers. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes shut but he pulled back. She groaned gently and he chuckled, "And that's why you've got to go to bed, otherwise I'll keep you up all night." She opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"I'm going to hold you to that." She warned him and he crossed over both of his hearts in promise. She stepped into her room and closed the door, leaning against it and sighing happily. She then looked at her bed and rushed over, taking just enough time to slip into some pyjamas before falling straight to sleep.

_~0~0~0~_

_Hello my lovely, lovely readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, slightly angry Doctor made an appearance here, but he'll be back XD_

_Now, before I get to the reviews I have some (slightly) bad news. I'm going to be away for a week *le gasp*. I'll have access to the net, so if you want to message me or leave me any wonderful reviews like you normally do, then go ahead and I'll do what I can but all my writing will be on this computer so I won't be able to post anything :( But don't fear, the next adventure will be an original adventure and will be posted promptly on the 13th, I promise XD And as a little apology gift, at the bottom I'm going to post a sneak peak just to keep you interested ;)  
_

_Oh, I also forgot to mention I have joined Twitter! Can't promise I'll use it, but let's give it a shot, shall we? It's Danni_Girl2, if you wanna follow._

_Everyone's reviews have been lovely, once again. I feel I need to let you know, though, that the Doctor won't meet Danni for quite a while yet. It's not the end of the story, cause they're not moving backwards like River and the Doctor, but it'll be worth the wait._

_Oh, don't worry, Amy knows what they're up to and she knows just how the Doctor will react if they're found out XD _

_Lex - I did think of doing a couple of smut scenes and posting them under a side-fic, but a) I don't know if people would like it and b) I don't know if they'd be any good anyway, it's not something I've ever written before but I like to try new things. However, a bit of snogging never hurt anyone XD_

_And here is the sneak-peak. Enjoy, I'll see you in a week xxx_

"Oh for God sakes you can not be that unobservant!" Danni cried at him and he frowned, "I know you've been busy, saving the universe and everything but have you actually looked at me?!" He studied her for a moment, taking in her shaking and the sheen of cold sweat covering her skin. She had a large gash on her head and was tapping against her thigh urgently. Then he noticed the maids outfit she was wearing, dirty and tattered from the amount of time she had spent in it.

"You've come from the Valiant." He stated in shock and she nodded.

"Yes. You can't leave me. I need you, I can't ever come through the other side of this without you. Don't you dare leave me too." She told him and he smiled sadly.

"Never." He swore and she grinned shakily, her eyes full of tears and she knelt down at his feet.

"Tell me what to do."


	32. The Arthadian King

Danni laughed loudly as Homer Simpson was dragged out of the feminist convention, complaining to Marge that he was full of potato salad. Amy sat next to her, chuckling but still not quite as awake as Danni. Both girls held a mug in their hands, Danni's had tea in it while Amy had a very strong cup of coffee.

"I know I've said it before," Danni told her, "But I can't begin to tell you how glad I am that The Simpsons exists in this universe. I don't know what I'd do if I never got to see this show again."

"It is a classic." Amy replied sleepily and Danni nodded.

"It is." Danni agreed, "And I'm loving the fact I can watch episodes that hadn't even been broadcast in my universe. That one about Homer's dog was lovely." The door opened and the Doctor appeared, flopping on the giant couch between the two girls. His arm wrapped itself around Danni's shoulder, pulling her slightly towards him.

"I should have known you'd been in here." He told the two, "I went to the kitchen, but it was still in tack so I figured you can't have been cooking yet." Danni pulled her tongue out at him and he smiled cheekily.

"It's Saturday. Saturday means Saturday morning cartoons." She explained, motioning to the giant screen with her mug.

"And how do you know that?" The Doctor asked, surprised. Humans could never tell the passage of time within the TARDIS, that's why bedtime was always just after they'd had an adventure, when they were tired out from all the running.

"Everyday's Saturday here, isn't it? You skip the boring days, and the only really exciting day is Saturday." Danni reasoned.

"Wait, doesn't that mean that every morning you have to watch cartoons?" Amy asked and Danni smiled.

"Who wouldn't want to watch cartoons every morning?" Danni replied, "Oh Amelia, you grew up way too much in them 14 years." She looked at the Doctor, "I never had this issue with Rose, you know? We'd have watch Spongebob Squarepants for hours if you hadn't have interrupted us."

"We were supposed to be going to Scotland..." The Doctor began to defend before shaking his head, "Nevermind. We're going somewhere I've not been in... well, since my seventh body I think." He frowned in thought before shrugging and standing up, "I've left you a dress in the wardrobe, you'll both need to get changed. Hurry up, no more chit chatting." He placed a kiss on Danni's lips before ruffling Amy's hair. Amy batted him away with a semi-annoyed frown and he bounded out, scolding them for already taking too long. Danni sighed and paused the television with the massive remote used to control it. She placed the mug in her hands down on the coffee table and stood up, stretching out her back with a pop.

"This better be good." Danni told Amy as they headed out and towards the wardrobe, "Seriously, it'd better be worth interrupting my cartoons."

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor stuck his head out of the door, looking left and right before grinning and chucking both of the TARDIS doors open.

"Welcome to Arthadia!" He cried, stepping onto the field they had landed on. Just into the distance stood a large castle-like building on a hill surrounded by small stone houses, a wall surrounding the town. Amy stepped out in a white cotton floor length dress with a green waistcoat-like top over it, her hair pulled back modestly.

"Why do we have to dress up and you still look like a geography teacher?" She asked. The Doctor straightened his jacket self-consciously.

"To get a real feel for a place, you have to dress the part." He told her without acknowledging her comment.

"And the geography teacher look is as ancient here as it is anywhere." Danni stated as she stepped out wearing a similar outfit to Amy, except instead of the green waistcoat she had a leather corset over the top of the cotton dress, "It's all right for you, my chest is killing me in this."

"Your chest is perfect." He replied instantly before blushing deeply, "Shut up, Pond. Why are we stood around chatting?" He stalked off and Amy turned to Danni.

"That's why we're dressed up." She said and Danni laughed, "So he can see you in tight clothing."

"I can't help it if I look fantastic." Danni replied, grabbing her hand and the two followed him towards the town.

"So, where are we?" Danni asked, taking his hand in her other and joining them all up in the chain. She loved holding his hand, it covered hers completely and made her feel safe and secure. She rarely felt secure, she could jump off anywhere and as much as she tried to hide it, she never felt she could do anything important without the fear of jumping somewhere unexpectedly. She'd even managed to get her showers down to four minutes under the water and seven drying off and getting changed, just in case she appeared somewhere mid-way.

"Arthadia." He told her, "It was developed as a medieval-themed amusement planet set around the legend of King Arthur in the 57th century. You paid a fee and could do anything from being a peasant for a day to ruling as king for a week. The joys of medieval life without the death and disease. The most you got was the chance to 'catch' the black death, and if you did you got a free day pass and a commemorative mug." He explained as they reached the edge of the town, "Then one day, for no reason at all, the planet shut down all of it's defences and no one could enter or leave. That was about..." He looked at his watch, "four hundred years ago. The planet took on it's theme and they now believe this is how they have always lived."

"So are we the first new people in years?" Amy asked and he nodded. They approached the town square which was full to the brim of people bustling around eagerly. Someone banged into Danni as they rushed past and up to one of the many stalls lining the edges.

"Nice to see people had manners back in the day." She grumbled, rubbing her arm. The Doctor chucked his arm over her shoulder.

"Well, I wasn't going to bring you to any old boring day, was I?" He replied as they made their way to the centre. Danni looked up, seeing the decorations dangling from the buildings surrounding them, then looked at all the people who were dressed in what was obviously their finest clothes. Children were running about happily and stall holders were shouting their wares to the massive crowd.

"It's like a giant street party." Amy pointed out, echoing her thoughts, "So, something royal, right?"

"Well done Pond." The Doctor congratulated, "It's a coronation. The coronation of King Danzeil the Fourth, to be precise." He pointed at the castle-like building, which Danni surmised was actually a castle even though it didn't have a pointy tower like the ones she imagined her head, "He should appear on that balcony in about half an hour, plenty of time to blend in and have a look around." He pushed Amy slightly to get her moving, "Go on, I'm not always going to be there to hold your hand Amelia. Meet us back here before the new king emerges." Amy rolled her eyes.

"If you just wanted time alone, you just had to ask." She told him before walking off. The Doctor, cheeks still slightly tinted pink, took Danni's hand.

"I've got something to show you." She shot him a pleasantly confused look and followed him to a stall covered in small items, most caked in dirt. He motioned to them with his free hand.

"These are artefacts discovered by the farmers and dedicated diggers of the planet, alluding to the past of Arthadia." He picked up a small square plaque-like object, still covered in dirt, "Everything is written in English, which isn't a language that lasted so no one has been able to translate what is written on the objects that they find."

"Until now, right?" She asked and he grinned at her.

"Exactly." He began rubbing some of the dirt away with his thumb before handing it to her, "If you would, milady." She giggled and took it off him. The dirt had revealed a cartoon of the castle in the centre of the town with the words 'Arthadia, Where Everyone is Royalty' scrawled around it in a circle. She frowned in confusion and squeezed it slightly, feeling it's plastic body. She then flipped it over, revealing a metal panel on the back.

"It's a fridge magnet." She breathed in disbelief. True to her word back on New Earth, whenever she could she had picked up a fridge magnet or something similar from every planet they had landed on. She had quite the collection on a giant sheet of metal that had appeared on her bedroom wall straight after she had bought her first one on a farm planet Ten had taken her to with Martha.

"They're from the gift shops that were dotted around the planet." He explained, "Trinkets from holidays that never took place made into the history of a new planet." She stared at it in wonder before turning to the stall owner.

"Excuse me," She called, catching the man's attention, "Can you tell me what this is please?" She handed it over to him and he flipped it over a couple of times, rubbing some more of the dirt off.

"Ahh, yes. This is believed to be an offering to the god 'Royalty', who is said to be the god who watched over the kings of old, as the name is always accompanied with these pictures of castles." She nodded, a smile on her face as he handed it back.

"So, there were multiple gods?" She inquired.

"Yeah, er..." He looked around his stock, picking up a pencil and showing her the name of a ride scrawled up the side of it, "Pencils like this were used by scribes when writing messages to the gods. This particular one has the god of Knowledge's name written up the side. Some people believe that they thought inscribing items with the name of a particular god meant that the items were blessed by the god, and in turn so were they. So, someone using a pencil with the god of knowledge's name would learn more as a result." The Doctor watched her take the pencil off the man, nodding along as he continued to tell her about other items he had for sale. He smiled widely as she bit her lip, concentrating hard on what she was being told as she committed it to memory. She turned to show him the pencil, blinking in surprise them smiling shyly at his gaze.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked him.

"I'm just enjoying seeing all this through your eyes." He told her, "You're always just happy to learn something new." She blushed and nudged him gently.

"It helps when I have a wonderful teacher." They grinned at each other before the Doctor turned to the man, holding out some bronze coins he hand pulled from his never-ending pockets.

"We'll take the 'Royal' offering." He told the man, who nodded and took the money happily.

"I'll give you the pencil as well. It's not often I get a young lady as interested in history as yourself." She grinned happily and bobbed her head.

"Oh, thank you so much!" She exclaimed, "Have a wonderful day!" The man chuckled to himself.

"You too, fair maiden." The Doctor offered her his arm and they continued on, Danni still examining the magnet.

_~0~0~0~_

They met up with Amy as the crowd began to gather underneath the balcony ready for the new king to appear. Danni showed Amy the magnet and pencil and explained the two stories behind the items. They were interrupted as the doors to the balcony were thrown open and a man stepped out. He had dark skin and slicked-back hair, a jewel encrusted crown perched on his head. He wore a deep red suit and a long fur cape. He looked out over the crowd, a bored look on his otherwise handsome face.

"Citizens of Arthadia!" He called out, "My name is Danziel Mason Jakral and today the God Almighty chose me to rule over you as your new king!" The crowd cheered loudly as the man held his arms aloft, drinking in the adulation greedily. Danni frowned and looked up at the Doctor, who had his arms wrapped around her waist.

"He seems a bit full of himself." She pointed out over the noise.

"They believe their monarchs are heaven sent to rule over them. It's the same as the beliefs from medieval Britain. Each king is viewed as a demi-god, it's his birthright." He explained. She bit her lip, still frowning and looked back at the king.

"How fascinating." She remarked.

"As your new ruler, I shall uphold our traditions and..." He was cut off by a flash of white light which seemed to consume him. There was silence before the crowd erupted into chaos.

"Well," Amy shouted over the commotion, "I'm guessing that wasn't supposed to happen." The Doctor shook his head.

"No, that's new." He took hold of both girls hands and dragged them through the crowd. They approached some official-looking men at the door to the castle and the Doctor let go of Amy's hand to pull out his psychic paper.

"Hello, I'm part of the national guard inspecting witchcraft and other supernatural things. These are my two..." he trailed off, regarding the two girls for a moment then turning back to the men, "assistants. As you can see by this very official-looking document, I'm very official and you have to let us in." Danni stared at him, eyebrows raised in disbelief as the two men shared a look, obviously bemused by the man in the strange outfit but they let him in regardless. The paper had held the kings official seal after all, and if they hadn't they'd be in trouble. The Doctor nodded his thanks and proceeded to bound up the grand staircase that greeted them, taking the steps two at a time and leaving his two 'assistants' on their own.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Danni asked, "Do we follow him or are we supposed to be doing our own snooping?" Amy shrugged.

"I say we follow him. All the action is going to be happening upstairs." Danni nodded in agreement and they began up the stairs.

"I swear he used to be better at this." Danni told Amy, "He used to leave instructions to his lowly assistants. We're not bloody mind readers."

"He just gets caught up in the moment sometimes. Usually when you're here, I think he's showing off." Amy replied, smirking slightly when Danni blushed, "Oh, you know you love it." Danni shot her a dark look then giggled, nodding.

"I do." She admitted, and she did. She loved that he felt he had to show off to her. That he had to impress her. He didn't, just being himself impressed her enough but it was nice to feel like she was worth the effort.

"If you just let me have a look..." They heard the Doctor argue and they followed his voice to a large room where he was stood with a group of people. One woman, with very sophisticated clothes and a small crown on her head, a queenly figure if Danni had ever seen one, shook her head and glared angrily at the Doctor.

"Absolutely not. This is witchcraft and no one knows of you, _Doctor._" She bit his name out and Danni rolled her eyes. Another set of royals he'd managed to impress.

"Begging you pardon, Your Majesty," She stepped forward and curtsied, keeping her gaze downcast, "This man knows of what he speaks. I was under a witches curse for three years and he saved me from it's hold. If anyone can save the king from the same fate, it's the Doctor." The woman looked her up and down, scrutinizing every inch of her and Danni fought the urge to shrink away.

"What curse, child?" She demanded.

"I fell upon the witch accidentally one day as I was walking home from the market, and we both crashed to the floor. She punished me by turning me into a hag, covered in boils and pox marks, my face twisted horribly. But the Doctor saved me, and not one remains." She held out her arms for the woman to inspect. The queen stepped forward and inspected her closely.

"Remarkable." She breathed before turning to guards blocking their way into the room, "Let him through." The guards didn't seem to like the idea but did as they were told. Danni and Amy followed him out onto the balcony.

"You just lied to the queen." The Doctor whispered as he pulled out his screwdriver discreetly.

"Says he who was knighted and banished at the same time by queen Victoria." She retorted.

"Wait, what?" Amy asked, confused. Danni shot her a smile.

"I'll tell you later. It's a great story. It's got werewolves in it." Amy's eyes lit up at the promise.

"They weren't really werewolves. It was a Lupine Wavelength Haemovariform" The Doctor replied.

"And they weren't really vampires, are you going to change the story to 'fish people take over Venice'?" Danni teased and he pouted as he scanned the air, reading the results quickly.

"Short range teleport." He declared as he pushed the end of the screwdriver back down, "Something close has taken him.

"Can you reverse it?" Amy asked and the Doctor nodded.

"Easily." He boasted, "But we don't know who or what took him. We don't want to alarm them by taking him back."

"So, you don't have any idea who it could have been?"

"Why don't we ask him?" Danni interrupted, motioning to the king who had just reappeared behind them. He looked very dazed as he stared over at them before passing out, Amy and Danni catching just before he hit the floor.

"Woah, he's heavy." Amy said through gritted teeth, "Get him inside." The Doctor grabbed one leg as the two red-heads dragged Daniel inside, the Doctor's efforts not really helping. The queen gasped as they laid his down on the floor.

"Danziel!" She cried, dropping to the ground next to him and stroking his hair. His eyes flickered opened and he stared up at his wife.

"I'm sorry." he whispered before passing out again. The Doctor felt his neck gently.

"He's still alive, he's just in shock." he reassured her before standing up and rubbing his hands together, "Right, I need access to the roof. Where is it?" The queen nodded and turned to the guards.

"Take him to wherever he wants to go." She commanded and they bowed to show their obedience. The trio followed them out of the room and they headed towards to way upwards.

"So, what's wrong with him?" Amy asked quietly, not believing he had just collapsed out of shock.

"I don't know. His pulse was incredibly regular for someone who had just been laid out by shock." He replied grimly.

"Do you think they've given him something? Maybe a parasite alien or something?" The Doctor shook his head.

"If it was a parasite, he'd be thriving not passed out on the floor. I need to find out more about the ship." The guards paused by a door.

"This is the way to the roof, sir." One stated. The Doctor smiled at him.

"Yes, er, thank you. We'll head upstairs, you just wait here. We'll call you if we need anything." He saluted them awkwardly before he headed up the stairs behind the doorway. Danni and Amy smiled apologetically at them for his behaviour and followed him onto the roof. The crowd was still gathered outside, all wanting to see what had happened to their new king. Amy shielded her eyes as she looked up towards the sky.

"Do you think they're up there?" She asked. The Doctor pointed his screwdriver upwards and scanned further, able to do a more thorough search without the fear of being caught.

"There's something there, but I'm not sure what." He stated slowly, smacking the end of the screwdriver against his palm and trying again, "There's a sort of forcefield around the planet, well not a forcefield but it's kind of like a forcefield and it's the reason no one was able to access the planet for so long. I can't get a proper reading from here." He placed the screwdriver back into his pocket, "We need to get back to the TARDIS."

"Okay." Amy replied, "What do we tell the queen? They're not going to believe aliens took him."

"We'll say we need to get supplies, will be back in the morning." He replied.

"We can't just leave him alone. What if they've done something to him and he tries to slaughter the royal family?" The Doctor nodded slowly in agreement.

"Right, new plan; I'll go back for the TARDIS, you two stay here and keep an eye on the king. If someone goes wrong, you can ring me and I'll come back."

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor explained to the queen that he needed to go grab some detection equipment, to ensure the king hadn't been placed under a curse that may activate at a later date. Happy to have her husband back, from what appeared to be the Doctor's intervention, the queen gave him free rein over the kingdom, just telling him to be quick. Amy and Danni stayed in the castle to keep an eye out for any strange occurrences, such as whoever took him coming back. They were in a small sitting room, Danni and Amy sat together on one sofa as the king and queen sat across from them, the queen fusing over her husband. He batted her away with a groan, holding his head in his other hand. They'd been arguing about his health for the last twenty minutes and Danni glanced at Amy, who was sat there with a frown on her face. She seemed to be becoming as impatient with their bickering as Danni was, so she sat forward, clearing her throat uncertainly.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty." Danni apologised, drawing their attention from the fight to her, "I was wondering if you could tell us more about where you went..." He glared at her, causing her to trail off.

"You will not be able to understand, let alone deduce anything from what I can tell you, you silly girl. I saw things you couldn't even begin to imagine, so shut up." He snapped back. She narrowed her eyes angrily at him.

"I am not a silly girl!" She argued back, "I know more about this than you think, but I need to know where you went." He stood up and stormed over to her, hovering above her menacingly.

"How dare you talk to me like that?" Danni shot up, glaring up at him.

"No, how dare you? I don't care if you think your heaven sent or even God himself, that gives you no right to talk down to me." He seemed to deflate at this and she smiled gently at him, "I know you're scared Your Majesty, but the Doctor can help. And so can me and Amy, but we need your help." He muttered something, turning away from her and she looked at Amy, who seemed just as confused as she did.

"Sorry?" Danni asked.

"I said there is no God!" He shouted, his wife gasping and causing Danni to blink at him in shock at the pure anger on his face.

"Danziel, you can't mean that." His wife exclaimed, standing up and walking over to him, placing a hand on his arm, "That's blasphemy..." He shrugged her hand off his arm.

"There is no blasphemy when there is no God."

"But you were chosen to rule over this kingdom by him." She argued. He leant in close, the queen backing up in fear.

"There is no God." He bit out, "This is all a lie. We are all a lie and I won't have be a part of it any longer." He turned and stormed out. The queen held her hand out lamely as if trying to stop him before her tears began falling from her eyes. Amy shot up and pulled her in for a hug, which the queen took gratefully.

"My poor Danziel." She wept, "What have they done to him?" Amy rubbed her back soothingly.

"We don't know, but the Doctor will figure it out." Amy promised, looking at Danni with concern. Danni turned to the door which the King had stormed out of.

"You should rest, Your Majesty." Danni stated suddenly, "Lie down and rest for a while. The king will need you in top condition if he is to come out the other side of this." The queen let go of Amy and wiped her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"No, even if he is not well, our kingdom needs someone to direct them. I should go explain that he is unwell, and we'll attempt the coronation again tomorrow." Danni nodded slowly.

"That is probably a better idea." She agreed and the queen smiled, patting her arm as she headed out of the room.

"That is why I'm queen, my dear. If you want to go talk to Danziel, he will most likely be in his quarters." She told the two girls as she left with two guards. Danni laughed slightly, impressed.

"Oh, I like her."

_~0~0~0~_

_Guess who?! Did ya miss me? XD_

_I hope you didn't suffer too much with me being away. I loved seeing all your lovely messages and favourites whenever I got to go on my emails, so thanks for sticking with it while I was off doing real life stuffs._

_Random fact: I updated my text editor and when I first typed Danni-Girl it tried to correct it to Call Girl XD I don't think Danni woulda been too impressed, do you?_

_Seems to be a interest in a smut chapter. I'll have to think about that more, but if I do decide to write one I'll place it in a separate chapter and direct you all there. And, obviously, I won't post it until the time comes in this fic for it to flow properly._

_This original chapter didn't want to go the way I wanted it to, so apologies it's not fantastic, but the next episode is a favourite of mine so just bare with me XD_

_Nikki Pond: Because the Doctor doesn't know what any version of Danni knows at any one moment, he just wanted to know if that particular Danni knew it, which she did because it's one of the facts she learnt being all fan-girly in her original universe. He just wanted to hear her say his name XD_


	33. The Doctor with a Sword

Amy knocked on the door to the kings quarters, not waiting for an answer as she opened the door. The king was at the large dresser on the other side of the room and spun around on the seat he was sat on, furious at the intrusion.

"How dare..." He began angrily but Amy rolled her eyes and shut the door behind them.

"Oh pipe down." Amy retorted, "We know you went into space, so let's cut to the chase; What did you see?" Danziel stared at her, his eyes wide in shock before faking an air of confusion.

"I have no idea what you're on about. I just fainted, that's all. A stomach bug." He waved off. Danni sighed and turned to Amy.

"Well would you listen to that? A stomach bug, that's all. Nothing to get worried about. We should go tell the Doctor that we're wasting our time and move on somewhere else. After all, if they don't exist then they can't come back, can they?"

"Come back?" Danziel exclaimed, scared, before he could stop himself. Amy and Danni shared a smug look and he sat back down, defeated.

"Yes, fine. I was taken into some sort of vessel in the sky." He admitted lowly. Danni moved over and sat next to him on the seat, placing an hand on his arm.

"We know. And we can help, but we need to know what you saw." She told him gently. He looked at her suspiciously.

"You're not witch-hunters, are you?" He asked in replied and she shook her head.

"No, we're just passing through. But we're not leaving until we find out who took you and why." She promised and he nodded, taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

"I was in a large metal room, with these pictures that continuously changed on the walls and there was a large window on one side." He described, "Outside was the night sky, and down below was our... this planet, I recognised it from books I'd read with my tutor. Then two men came in. They looked Arthadian, but paler. They were talking in a strange language I couldn't understand, but it was like they were arguing. I recognised a couple of the words from history studies, I think it was the same language our ancestors used. Then... I was sent back." He trailed off lamely. Danni looked over at Amy, who had sat down on the bed. Amy had a frown on her face as she listened to the king.

"They're human then." Danni stated and Amy looked at her, surprised.

"What makes you say that?"

"The offerings, they were all in English." She pulled out the fridge magnet from the pocket of the dress she was wearing, thankfully the TARDIS had learnt from Donna that all dresses did need some form of pocket if you were going anywhere with the Doctor. She handed it to the king, "The language is called English. It's a language from Earth, everything's written in it." He looked it over and pointed to the word 'Royalty'.

"One of them said something like that." Danni nodded.

"He was talking about you. It means king or queen, he must of known who you were." The king handed it back to her and she pocketed it again, "I don't think they were meant to take you." She explained, "They sent you back awfully quickly, but that doesn't mean they won't come back."

"You talk about this like you've seen it before."

"We have. It's kinda what we do. So, we know what to look out for." She looked over at Amy, "I don't think they had enough time to do something to him directly, but we should keep an eye on him anyway." She turned back to the king, "Don't go anywhere without your guards. At least until the Doctor comes back."

"Who is this Doctor man? He had my seal, but I don't remember giving it to him." Danni smiled warmly, thinking about the madman in his blue box.

"He's the greatest man in this universe, and the one man who can help you."

_~0~0~0~_

Danni had been a sleep a good few hours when the sound of the TARDIS materializing woke her up. She groaned in exasperation that racket would wake everybody up! She sat up as the machine became solid and the Doctor peeked his head out of the door. He glanced around the grand bedroom she had been given; pitch black with a huge four-poster bed with Danni sat in the middle, rubbing her eyes.

"You're still in bed?" He exclaimed, stepping out and walking over to the curtains, "It's a beautiful new day and..." He chucked the curtains open, revealing it was still night, with a clear view of the stars in the sky above.

"It's the middle of the night, you moron. Of course I'm still in bed, I was asleep." He closed the curtains and turned to face her, confused.

"But I set her for the morning." He muttered, checking his watch just to make sure it was still night.

"You mean you're actually early? That must be a first." He pouted and she stuck her tongue out at him. He sat down on the edge of her bed, sulking.

"Are you going back to sleep, then?" He asked and she shook her head.

"Not if you're going to sulk about it." She swung her legs out of the bed and stood up, stretching. She had been given a night dress, thankfully. It was a little big but it did the job nicely as she hadn't been undressed in front of the Doctor yet. She blushed slightly to herself at the thought and sat down next to him, distracting herself from the images that had been popping into her head more and more lately, "What did you find out?"

"It's definately of human origin." He told her, not mentioning her flushed face if he'd noticed it, "Maybe a rescue mission that finally managed to break through the planet's defences. They just happened to scoop up the king." She nodded slowly before turning to look up at him, a smirk on her face.

"Well, should we go find out?" She asked.

"What about Amelia?"

"Aww, she's already been on a spaceship in her nightie, it's my turn!" She dismissed. He grinned and jumped off the bed, holding his hand out to her.

"Come on then, Danni-Girl. Let's go see who's watching." she took it and they dived into the TARDIS together.

_~0~0~0~_

When the TARDIS materialized on the ship, the Doctor insisted on stepping out first just to make sure no one was waiting for them. She teased him a little, saying it was because he wanted to make sure they'd landed in the right place but had let him go first anyway. After confirming that no one was there, and that they were in the right place, he let her out. The ship was pretty generic, metal walls and floors, a porthole here or there showing the universe outside. They walked down the hallway hand in hand, each of them keeping a look out for other people. Danni caught sight of a small door and smirked to herself.

"Theta," She whispered and he paused at the sound of his name, "In here, quick." She pulled at his hand urgently as she opened the door.

"But, that's just a cleaning closet." He protested as she shut the door, bathing them in darkness.

"I know." She stated smugly, reaching out and grabbing the lapels of his jacket, "And me in my nightie, what is a girl to do?"

"Danni wh..what are you doing?" The Doctor stuttered out as she raised up on her tiptoes, barely able to see his face.

"Something I've wanted to do for ages." she whispered before kisisng him. He flailed backwards in surprise, obviously not expecting her to kiss him. She giggled lightly.

"Danni!" He moaned, embarrassed, "We're supposed to be looking for the people who stole the king, not _kissing_." He whispered the last word like it was taboo and she rolled her eyes, kissing him again. He responded almost instantly this time, groaning into her mouth as he pressed her up against the wall, not being able to see her, just feel her pressed up against him. He ran a hand down her front as she buried her hands in his hair. He pressed his hand on her chest, feeling her heart beating wildly. He moved back slightly, Danni trying to follow to continue the kiss. He chuckled slightly.

"You're loving this, aren't you?" He asked, his voice husky.

"Yes, I am." She replied, "There's nothing I like more than being pressed up against you." She whispered in his ear before nibbling his earlobe.

_~0~0~0~_

Danni stepped out of the cupboard with a satisfied smirk on her face. The Doctor followed shortly afterwards, straightening his tie, his hair more of a mess than usual. They shared a look, smiling secretly at each other before they continued down the hallway.

"Keep an eye out for anything unusual." he told her.

"I know, it's not my first time on an alien spaceship." He shot her a smirk.

"You've snogged on a spaceship before?" He asked. She batted his arm before replying with her smirk on her face as she thought back to being on the back of Tricey. Her first Doctor-snog.

"Yes, actually I have." He looked mock-shocked as they slowly approached a door with a window in it. The Doctor peeked in first.

"Well, that's interesting." He stated, pulling his screwdriver out and opening the door. He grabbed her hand again to pull her in. The room was full of discarded pieces of robots, legs and arms just chucked on the floor. The Doctor began scanning them as Danni paced around the room, poking a torso with no head suspiciously. The bits of robot had very realistic skin and she continued on.

"It's all contemporary, whoever it is hasn't been here very long." He called over as something gold caught her eyes. She made a beeline towards it, moving pieces of robot out of the way to reveal a head. She picked it up, eyes wide as the head of the king stared blankly back up at her, wires dangling out of his neck. She turned around slowly, seeing that other parts she had dismissed were dressed in regal finery.

"Doctor..." She called over shakily and he turned to look at her, jumping at the sight of her holding a head without a body. He rushed over and took it off her, scanning it quickly and reading the results.

"Remote controlled from the ship." He continued scanning, spinning the screwdriver around the room, "From that direction." He added when he stopped.

"Why would they have a replica of the king?" Danni asked.

"I don't know." The Doctor replied, "Maybe they need to have a version to get into the castle? No, that doesn't make any sense, if they were going to do that why send the original back?" He muttered, "Maybe it's so that the people on the planet trust it, make them believe it's the actual king speaking." he studied it closely, "It's very realistic." He chucked it up and down like a ball in thought, "Maybe that's why they took him, to get his behavioural patterns. But why then send him back?" Danni frowned and looked around.

"There's a lot of parts in here for just one robot." She pointed out, "Only one head though."

"Maybe they're spares." He mused and she nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds much better than what I was thinking." She laughed, "Come on, we should find who's flying this thing."

"What were you thinking?" The Doctor asked.

"That they were going to replace the Danziel with a robot, but even as I was thinking it I realised it sounded like some bad plot from a B-movie." The Doctor eyed her thoughtfully before looking at the head again.

"It wouldn't be the first time..." He muttered and Danni laughed in disbelief.

"You can't be serious," She said sceptically, "I mean, a robot replacing a king in the middle ages? Why would anyone do that?"

"It's human in origin. If you thought it, what's to say no one else has?"

"I'm from the 21st century! The people on this ship are much more advanced that that. Are you suggesting that some actually rather clever people would have the same idea as me?" He frowned and pointed at her.

"Don't do that." He scolded her.

"Do what?"

"Put yourself down like that. You are clever." She rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't saying that." She replied, "Just think it through. All we have is a robot head with no body, but looking like the king and a bunch of excess body parts. Maybe they want to recreate him for a waxwork museum or something."

"There is a Madame Tussauds in this galaxy." The Doctor conceded.

"There you go... seriously?" She asked, "Madame Tussauds all the way out here?" He nodded.

"Yeah. The waxworks are robots now."

"Can we go?" She asked excitedly and he laughed.

"Later, Danni-Girl." She beamed at him, "But if they don't want to replace him, why take him? It can't be for a museum because why would they expose a primitive civilization to technology like that? Archaeologists are much more discreet than that."

"Maybe they wanted it to be as realistic as possible? It's not like anyone's going to believe he was abducted by aliens," Danni pointed out, "they'll believe witches before that." They both jumped, Danni letting out a little scream, as the eyes on the robot suddenly snapped open.

"Witches took me!" It declared, "They tried to put me under their power but it didn't work. We must form an army against them, fight whoever crosses our path." It's voice was a perfect replica of Danziel's, if not slightly tinny.

"'An army'?" Danni repeated, "That seems even more implausible. Who'd want people who'd never seen a gun fighting for them?"

"The Roman's didn't have guns but if you came across a legion of soldiers you'd run the other way." The Doctor replied.

"Please help me. As your king, will you follow me?" The head asked. The Doctor dropped the head, yelping in realisation.

"They've replaced the king! We've got to go back!" He grabbed her hand and began dragging her towards the TARDIS.

"Wait!" She cried, "How do you know?"

"You heard the head! They want to raise an army, we have to stop him!" He opened the TARDIS doors and ran up to the console.

"Shouldn't we find the actual king then?" She asked, pointing back to the ship, "Or, you know, stop whoever's replaced him in the first place?" he shook his head as he flew the TARDIS away.

"If they know we're onto them, they could activate him. He might not just be a robot, he could be a weapon as well and Amy's down there." He reasoned. She sighed as he ran past her back out of the box.

"Oh for gods sake." She muttered before shouting, "Wait for me!" She ran after him, picking up the bottom of her nightdress so she didn't fall down. He slowed down long enough for her to arrive by his side before speeding off again. She watched him run past a suit of armour, before slowing down and running back to it, looking it up and down appraisingly.

"Oh no." She warned him, "You are not wearing a suit of armour." He pouted.

"Why not?" He whined.

"Because it's ridiculous and you'd never be able to hold it up." He reached out and grabbed the sword, obviously as compensation and they burst into a grand hall where the king was giving a speech to a crowd of his subjects. Everyone turned to look at the pair as Amy pushed her way through the crowd.

"Sorry everyone!" Danni cried, "Bit late, ignore us." They all turned back to the king, not really caring about the girl in her nightie and the geography teacher with a sword. With their new king being stolen by witches, they had stranger things to focus on. Amy stood in front of them, her hands on her hips.

"Where have you been?" She snapped, "And why are you still in your nightie? Oh god, did you two sneak off to..." Danni held her hand up to silence her, a faint tinge on her cheeks.

"No. The Doctor thinks the king's actually a robot." Amy looked up at the man on the stage before looking back at Danni.

"Do you?" Danni shook her head, "Then what's he going to do?"

"I'm guessing by the way he's striding towards him with that sword, he's going to fight him." Danni replied with a sigh. Amy span to see the Doctor pushing his way through the crowd, neither of the girls having noticed him walk off.

"Where'd he get a sword?" Amy groaned as they followed him through the crowd.

"It was going to be a suit of armour," Danni pointed out, "Come on, we'd better stop him." The Doctor reached the stage and jumped on it before anyone could stop him, pointing the sword at the king. Danni groaned loudly, "Oh god, now what's he doing?"

"You are an imposter." The Doctor declared, "and you will not use these people in whatever war you are fighting." People gasped around the room at the sight of the man threatening their new king. Danni shook her head in exasperation.

"All this is him just showing off to you, you know?" Amy told her, making a swirl in the air to illustrate the whole situation. Danni nodded with a sigh, she did have the feeling that might have been the case.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Danziel stuttered out, still staring at the point of the sword.

"I think you know exactly what I'm on about." The Doctor approached him menacingly, "I'm the Doctor, look me up in your data banks."

"What are data banks? Guards!" Danziel cried, finally having enough of the man pointing a sword at him. _This _was the man who was going to stop the people who had took him?!

With a sigh Danni pulled herself up onto the high stage, Amy following behind her.

"Doctor, he obviously doesn't know what you're going on about." She told him, "Now put the sword down or so help me I'm going to put you in a time out!" The guards were now all surrounding him, ready to attack before he did but not wanting to startle him into something that could end very badly.

"You may have everyone else fooled, but not me." He snapped at the king, ignoring her, "I have stopped bigger and badder things than you could even dream about. I will not let you destroy this planet." And with that promise he swung the sword at the king, cutting his head off in one well-aimed swipe. Blood exploded from his neck as the people in the crowd screamed. His head rolled on the stage, stopping right at Amy and Danni's feet, who both stared at it in horror.

"Oh my Jesus Christ!" Danni screamed, jumping back from it, "Did he..." She looked at Amy, who seemed just as dumbfounded as she felt.

"Erm... I think I may have made a bit of a mistake." The Doctor stated, slowly laying the sword on the floor before holding his hands up in surrender. He looked at Danni, who stepped back for him warily.

"Guards!" Amy and Danni screamed again as the head shouted for the guards.

"Did... Did he just talk?" Amy exclaimed.

"Yes. The Arthadians have removable body parts." The Doctor replied and Danni glared at him.

"And you didn't think to mention that before cutting his bloody head off?!" She shouted at him angrily. He looked back sheepishly and she stormed over, pushing past the guards to smack him hard on the chest, "You are a bloody moron sometimes!"

"Can you reattach it?" Amy asked in an attempt to calm Danni down.

"Yes, of course." The Doctor replied and Danni stared at him as a flash of something echoed in her mind.

"_Then we discovered it wasn't the robot king after all, it was the real one. Fortunately, I was able to re-attach the head." The Doctor explained to Rory as he paced around the console, Rory spinning in the pilot seat to watch him. Amy came down the stairs and Rory looked up at her._

"_Do you believe any of this stuff?" Rory asked her and she continued to walk past him._

"_I was there." She told him._

"Oh my god, I remember this." Danni stated, almost horrified that she had forgotten the beginning of that episode.

"You knew this was going to happen?" Amy asked and Danni turned to her.

"Sort of." Danni told her, "I remember him," She pointed to the Doctor, "Telling this story to... someone. I can't believe it." She stormed over and picked up the head before storming back over and shoving the head into his arms, "Just reattach his head!"

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor sat on a chair in the kings private sitting room, where he had burst into just the day before. His head was hung as he stared at his feet guiltily, his arms crossed. The king stood on one side of him and the queen on the other as they stared down at him crossly, but not as cross as Danni was. She stood between the two, hands on her hips as she glared down at him.

"You cut off his head!" She was shouting and he nodded.

"I know." He replied quietly.

"He's the king!" Danni continued, "And you cut off his head!"

"I know." He repeated, chastised. Amy stood to the side, a large grin on her face as she watched Danni scolding him like he was a child. Which, to be fair, most of the time he was.

"What did you think was going to happen after you cut his head off, exactly? I'm sure them up there," Danni pointed upwards to emphasis her point, "Would have noticed their robot suddenly being decommissioned! And what if you couldn't have reattached his head?" She motioned with both hands at Danziel, "He's the king!"

"I know, I'm sorry." He reached out for her but she shook her head angrily.

"Oh no! You're not getting away with it that easily!" She shouted. The queen, startled at the amount of anger coming out such a small girl, placed a hand on her arm gently.

"Dear, I'm sure he has a reasonable explanation for the entire affair." She told the girl.

"This was supposed to be a lovely trip to commemorate my mother's birthday." The Doctor blinked in surprise, he hadn't known she knew that, "And instead of listening to me once again _he_," She pointed at the Doctor, "cuts some guys head off. I think I have the right to be a little angry."

"She's right." The Doctor told them, taking her hands in his and turning her so she was facing him, "I'm sorry. I really am. And I will try and listen to you more often." She nodded once, her lips still pursed together as he smiled gently at her, "But we need to know why they took the king, and why they have a robot duplicate up there."

"Well then, maybe we should go visit them." Amy sauntered over, linking arms with Danni, "I'm sure they can tell us why they're here."

"They may still be hostile." The Doctor warned, "We can't just go in all guns blazing. This planet won't know what hit it."

"This planet," The queen snapped, offended, "can handle itself, Doctor, and whatever comes our way. We do not need to be mollycoddled like children. You have the capacity to go to this sky vessel, then we shall go with you." Her husband turned to her, alarmed.

"Sandrel, you don't know what's up there." He exclaimed, "This is beyond anything we've ever come across."

"Anything that has made you doubt the existence of the God Almighty must be dealt with head on." She replied firmly, "And I want to be there when it happens." She turned to the Doctor, "Now, you may not listen to your assistants but as the queen of this planet you will listen to me. Take me there, now." He nodded quickly at her fierce demand.

"Of course, of course. If you'll just follow me..." He turned and almost sprinted out of the room. Amy rolled her eyes and dragged the king out with her while the queen turned to Danni.

"That is how to deal with men." She told Danni with a smirk, "They'll do anything if they think your angry enough." Danni nodded.

"I shall have to remember that Your Majesty." She motioned for the queen to go first, who did as she always would.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor let the queen out first, terrified of her temper. Daniel was next, then Amy, then the Doctor and Danni who were hand-in-hand. The Doctor held a finger up to his mouth.

"We have to be quiet, if we alert them to our presence then they may attack."

"With your magic box, I doubt that'll be an issue." The queen dismissed. The Doctor nodded.

"Yes, well..." He pulled out his screwdriver and scanned the area, pointing the way of the readout, "remote control signal is coming from that direction. Come on, gang." He started down the hallway but paused, a frown on his face, "No, not gang. I don't like it." He looked down at Danni, "It's not right, is it? Gang, sounds like we're some Scooby Doo operation. I'll think of something better." Danni rolled her eyes but smiled at his ramblings and he beamed back at her, relieved she seemed to have forgiven him for his slight blunder.

"Come on, Doctor." She replied, "We need to find out what they're up to." He nodded and continued striding until they were met with a huge set of double doors. He soniced them and they slid open with a sigh of air being decompressed. On the other side was a control room, a captain's seat in the middle and a small control console lining the far wall, a huge window looking out into space in front of it. Two men in blue overalls were huddled around one screen, muttering to each other in low voices.

"It's like Star Trek." Danni stated and they jumped, spinning around in surprise to see the group of people staring back at them. One man, with brown hair, smacked the other man, who had black hair, on the arm.

"I told you to stop playing the with teleport!" He exclaimed angrily, "Now you've brought the entire royal family!" The black-haired man held up his hands.

"Hey, I haven't been near it." He defended. Danziel looked shocked at the pair before turning to Danni and Amy.

"I can understand them now." He told them, confused. Danni nodded.

"The TARDIS translates for you in your head. Just go with it, it's easier than trying to understand why. Trust me." She reassured him.

"Hello!" The Doctor exclaimed, waving, "I'm the Doctor. This is a fascinating spaceship, isn't it?" He sauntered over to the two men, who backed up in surprise, "your basic scavenger ship. Bit battered around the edges, but lovely to see the classics are still being used. Upcycling at its best." He typed on the console before letting out a noise of realisation, "Ah, I see; you're from the Heran System. You're a long way from home. And stealing kings as well, that seems a bit odd. Especially considering that you're collecting robot parts just down the hallway." He turned to look at them expectedly, arms crossed as he leant on the monitor.

"We didn't mean to take him." The black-haired man stated, "I pressed the wrong button, we're only here to observe him, you see. We're going to use him as a protagonist for our theme park."

"Theme park?" Danni called over and the man's eyes lit up.

"We've bought this continent on this planet, right, and we're going to section it off and create areas based off different myths and legends from surrounding galaxies. There's a set scenario and you have to help the robots," he motioned to Danziel, "for example the King of Arthadia, fight against a threat based on the myth." Danziel stepped forward.

"What myth is based upon Arthadia? Do other civilizations know of us too?" The brown-haired man laughed slightly in disbelief.

"Everyone knows the myth of Arthadia. The planet that was once a theme park itself, it's a classic. We learnt about it in school, I played King Marcasant in the play." The black-haired man pouted.

"I was only a sheep-herder, how did you get to be the king?" The brown-haired man rubbed his knuckles against his chest, a smug look on his face.

"My superior acting skills, obviously."

"So, you're not here to try and take over the planet?" Amy interrupted as they began bickering about their acting abilities. The black-haired man looked over, his brows furrowed.

"Of course not." He replied, "We don't even have any weapons. We just wanted our robot to be realistic." The Doctor turned back to the screen then nodded.

"He's right, there's not a gun or a forcefield on this thing. We could take them over right now and they'd never be able to stop up." He looked up into the slightly alarmed faces of the men, "We're not going to, by the way. In case you were wondering."

"Why would you say we were one of these 'theme parks'?" the queen asked, "Arthadia has been thriving for thousands of years. We may not have space vessels or any of these advancements you speak of, but our planet is very real." The Doctor looked over at her apologetically as Danziel turned her to face him, taking a deep breath.

"We are." He admitted, "It's been passed down through the royal family for almost 400 years. Our planet was once visited by people from across the stars on holidays away from their original homes. King Marcasant shut the planet down, wanting to keep the lifestyle the break brought him. The truth was lost over time by all except the ruling family." The queen had placed a hand over her mouth in despair.

"That can't be true." She whispered, "We have history."

"All lies." He told her solemnly, "I am sorry, my dear, but it is the truth." She looked around at the faces of everyone in the room, seeing it in their sympathetic gazes that they had all known the planets original origin. She closed her eyes, not being able to bare to look at them any longer as her world crashed down around her. Not only was the life she living a lie, but her husband had known all along. He had kept up the charade and hadn't told her. And what of the poor people of their planet, how would they react?

"We can't let them know." She stated suddenly, opening her eyes and turning to her husband, "This would crush them." He nodded slowly.

"I know." He replied. She turned to the Doctor.

"I wish to go home now, and then I wish for you and your assistants to leave and never come back to our planet."

"Of course, of course." He reassured her. He turned to the men, gently nudging the brown-haired one on the shoulder with his fist, "Be more careful next time." He warned them.

_~0~0~0~_

_Hello all! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Haven't really got anything to report, so I'll see ya sunday! x_


	34. The Idiot's Lantern

Danni slowly walked down the stairs to the console, now dressed in a knee-length skater dress, blue of course, with no tights and no shoes. She had just finished telling Amy about Tooth and Claw, well, what she could remember of it. She hadn't been able to recall as much of the episode as she might have been able to previously and it really was beginning to worry her. If she forgot too much, then what use would she be? She looked down the see-through glass of the platform to see the Doctor hanging from his harness, fixing something he probably broke himself. She sat down on the stairs and watched him working intensely from above, a small smile on her face. He really was adorable.

"You don't have to watch me from up there, you know?" He called up, startling her slightly. She blushed in embarrassment at being caught and he looked up at her, flicking his goggles up onto his forehead so he could see her better. She stood up, smoothing the dress down and headed down to his level.

"What did you break?" She asked him and he frowned, offended.

"I didn't break anything!" He defended. She raised an eyebrow at him and he pouted, "I was trying to add mayonnaise to the console and I may have severed one of the connections to the library. Don't go in there, the books think they can fly." He smiled, "They really can't."

"Oh Theta." She replied with a giggle, "You're adorable sometimes." He smiled and hopped off his harness so he was stood next to her. She reached for his hand and swung it happily, "Thanks for taking me to Arthadia. My mum would have really loved it. Even with the king-stealing aliens." He lifted her hand up and placed a kiss on her knuckles.

"Sorry I cut off his head." He replied, "But I have an excellent idea for a follow-up trip." he pulled her up the stairs and to the console monitor, swinging it down so she could see it as well, "There's this little-known planet that, for thirty days straight, it's sun and all ten of it's moons are on display all day and night. There's this one flower that only blossoms under those exact conditions and it is that," he pointed to her dress, "colour." She looked down at her dress then up at him.

"What are we waiting for?"

"Amelia." He replied, before shouting for the other red-head.

_~0~0~0~_

Rose thanked the woman with the pushchair and headed back down the road she had just come up. Thank god it was the beginning of summer, and not raining otherwise she'd be soaked by now. As she turned a corner and saw the sign for the television shop she was heading for there was a flash of light, and she jumped in surprise as Danni appeared in front of her. Danni grinned, so much for seeing that blue flower, when she saw the blonde in full 1950's dress while Rose stared back at the girl in a blue dress, her legs and feet bare.

"I was getting dressed." Danni explained at the girls inquisitive look, "Aiming for Elvis, was he?" Rose nodded with a sigh, flattening her skirt slightly.

"Yes, and now there's something taking people's faces. I think it's something to do with the telly's from that shop." She pointed at Magpie's shop and Danni nodded slowly.

"Ah yes, I remember this. Come on then." She held her hand out and Rose took it with a smile.

"Aww, I missed you." Rose told her and Danni laughed, squeezing her hand as the walked towards the shop.

"I missed you too sweetie. And look at you, solving mysteries all on your own. Who needs a Time Lord when you've got Rose Tyler?" Rose nodded smugly.

"Soon the whole universe will see that." Rose added and they laughed, stopping outside the shop to calm themselves down. Rose entered first, the bell above the door ringing quietly as they stepped inside. There was a man behind the counter fiddling with a television set who looked up nervously as Danni closed the door behind them.

"Oh, I, I'm sorry miss, I'm afraid you're too late. I was just about to lock the door." He stuttered out.

"Yeah? Well, me and my sister wanna buy a telly." Rose replied. Danni tried to force the smile on her face down. Sister?

"Come back tomorrow. Please." He insisted.

"You'll be closed, won't ya?"

"What?" Magpie asked, confused.

"For the big day?"

"The coronation." Danni clarified and he nodded in realisation.

"Yes, yes, of course. The big day." Rose began walking slowly over to the counter, looking around the room at all the screens dominating the walls, "I'm sure you'll find somewhere to watch it. Please go."

"Seems to me half of London's got a television, since you're practically giving them away." She stated pointedly.

"I have my reasons."

"And what are they?" She leant in close with a whisper, but before he could reply the television next to Danni turned on, causing her to jump slightly. A woman's face appeared on it, staring out at the room with an eerie smile on her face.

"Hungry! Hungry!" The woman called.

"What's that?"

"It's just a television. One of these modern programmes. Now, I really do think you should leave! Right now!" He walked from behind the counter to the front door.

"Not until you've answered my questions. How comes your televisions are so cheap?" Rose continued.

"It's my patriotic duty. Seems only right that as many folk as possible get to watch the coronation. We may be losing the Empire but we can still be proud! Twenty million people they reckon'll be watching! Imagine that!" Rose looked over at Danni, neither girl looking convinced, "And twenty million people can't be wrong, eh? So why don't you get yourself back home and get up, bright and early, for the big day?"

"Nah, we're not leaving 'til we've seen everything." Danni told him firmly.

"I need to close." He tried a final time, but neither girl was going to give up.

"Mr Magpie, something's happening out there. Ordinary people are being struck down and changed, and the only new thing in the house is a television. Your television. What's going on?" Rose asked him. He stared at her, a look of defeat appearing on his face.

"I knew this would happen. I knew I'd be found out." He told her glumly before turning and locking the door. Danni's heart began to beat faster in her chest as Rose looked uneasy at the turn of events. She stepped closer to the blonde, hoping to reassure her slightly.

"All right, then, it's just you, me and Danni... you gonna come clean, then? What's really in it for you?" Rose asked uncertainly.

"For me? Perhaps some peace." The man breathed sadly.

"From what?"

"From her." He glanced over to the woman who had appeared on the television before. Rose followed his gaze and frowned in confusion.

"That's just a woman on the telly, that's just a programme." She reasoned.

"What two pretty little girls." The woman stated and Rose stared in shock.

"Oh, my God - are you talking to us?" She asked the television. Danni pulled her away slightly from the screen as she leant in closer.

"Yes - I'm talking to you_, _little one. Unseasonably chilly for the time of year, don't you think?" Actually, Rose didn't think it was cold but then again her nanna had always said the summers were warmer 'back in the day'.

"What are you?" Rose asked her breathlessly.

"I'm the Wire. And I'm hungrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyy!" The woman bared her teeth and a large bolt of pinkish electricity shot out of the screen, going straight for Rose's face. When people would ask Danni why she pushed Rose out of the way, taking the bolt for herself she would tell them it was because she didn't want Rose to be trapped and scared. But, the main thought in her head was how this might make Ten like her, saving Rose might just stop him giving her a hard time.

Rose yelped in surprise as she fell to the floor, her head bouncing off the wooden surface and knocking her unconscious.

"Please leave her with me." Danni forced out before it went dark.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor was sat in the office of Detective Inspector Bishop, watching the man and his associate fume with a look of amusement on his face. The man was trying to loom over him intimidatingly but, as anyone who knew the Doctor, that wasn't going to happen. He was sat behind the man's desk, which was littered in pictures of the people who's faces had been stolen, and a map was in the corner showing the whole of London, dots indicating where the people had been found.

"Start from the beginning," Bishop demanded, "tell me everything you know." The Doctor took a deep breath, forcing himself to look serious.

"Well... for starters... I know you can't wrap your hand around your elbow and make your fingers meet." He told them. Bishop pointed at him in warning.

"Don't get clever with me. You were there today at Florizel Street, and now breaking into this establishment. Now, you're connected with this. Make no mistake."

"Well, the thing IS_, _Detective Inspector Bishop-" The man placed his hands on the desk, leaning in cloister to the Doctor.

"How do you know my name?"

"It's... written inside your collar." The Doctor told him apologetically. Bishop shifted embarrassed, adjusting his collar, "Bless your mum. But, I can't help thinking, Detective Inspector, you're not exactly doing much detective inspecting. Are you?"

"I'm doing everything in my power." The man defended.

"All you're doing is grabbing those faceless people and hiding them as fast as you can. Don't tell me - orders from above, hmm? Coronation Day... the eyes of the world are on London Town... so any sort of problem just gets swept out of sight." The Doctor had begun to spin in the chair as he mused out loud. Bishop placed his hands in his pockets as he glared down at the man, annoyed at his attitude and the fact that he was right.

"The nation has an imagine to maintain." Bishop argued. The Doctor looked at him incredulously.

"Doesn't it drive you mad? Doing nothing? Don't you wanna get out there and investigate?"

"Course I do. But..." He sat down across from the Doctor, looking just like the downtrodden man he felt, "With all the crowds expected, we haven't got the man-power. Even if we did... this is... beyond anything we've ever seen.I just don't know anymore. Twenty years on the force..." The Doctor leant forward, crossing his arms as he listened carefully to the man, "... I don't even know where to start. We haven't the faintest clue what's going on."

"Well... that could change." The Doctor told him.

"How?" Bishop asked sceptically. He couldn't see how anything could change, no one could possibly know what was going on except Torchwood, and quite frankly they gave him the creeps. The Doctor stood up, hands on the desk in front of him as he mirrored Bishop's actions from moments ago.

"Start from the beginning. Tell me everything you know." Bishop nodded and stood up, leading him over to the map. The Doctor studied it carefully as he pulled out his glasses, pushing them up his nose.

"We started finding them about a month ago." Bishop explained, "Persons left sans visage. Heads just... blank."

"Is there any sort of pattern?" The Doctor asked, walking over to the desk and picking up a file, a picture of a woman without a face on top of it. He flipped through the paperwork but found nothing of interest.

"Yes, spreading out from North London. All over the City. Men, women, kids... grannies... the only REAL lead is there's been quite a large number in-"

"Florizel Street." The Doctor interrupted, recalling the house he and Rose had been in earlier that day. He hoped Rose had headed back to the TARDIS, when he was done here he'd go find her. Bishop looked over at the man, surprised as there was a knock on the door.

"Found another one, sir." A policeman declared as he lead in a small figure covered in a grey blanket that hung to their knees, a blue skirt peeking out underneath over bare legs and no shoes.

"Oh, er - good man, Crabtree. Here we are, Doctor..." The Doctor placed the file down and walked over, apprehensive of the person underneath. The grandmother on Florizel Street hadn't been dangerous, but that didn't mean that they couldn't become dangerous, "Take a good look. See what you can deduce." Crabtree pulled the blanket off the person's head, revealing deep orange hair the Doctor recognised instantly. His eyes widened in surprise and horror as he stared at Danni, without a face. Of all the things he had expecting, it hadn't been her. Even if she was going to be here she would have known what was happening and stayed away.

"Danni?" He exclaimed.

"Do you know her?" Bishop asked, having not expected him to recognise the person, after all London was a big place.

"Know her? She..." He trailed off as he approached her, staring down into her featureless face. He couldn't explain to the man who she was, mainly because he didn't really know that himself.

"They found her in the street, apparently, over at Master Square, with another lass. She'd been knocked unconscious but we're questioning her now." Crabtree told his superior, who frowned.

"That's unusual, that's the first one out in the open." He explained to the Doctor, "Heaven help us if something happens in public tomorrow for the big day, we'll have Torchwood on our back, make no mistake." The Doctor kept gazing down at Danni as anger began bubbling up inside him. He frowned as a fierce need to fix her flooded over him; he hadn't ever felt the need to save her, not really. Not even when they'd first met, she always seemed to know what was happening and what to do about it. It's one of the things that had irritated him about her. But now, seeing her actually helpless, he needed to save her and he needed to do it _now._

"Fetch her in." The Doctor barked, startling the pair.

"I'm sorry?" Bishop asked.

"Bring the other girl. Blonde, am I right?" He continued.

"Yeah, how did you know..." Crabtree began.

"Go fetch her, _now._" He snarled. Crabtree turned to his Inspector, who nodded his consent and the policeman left to fetch the other girl. The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and scanned Danni's faceless head, nothing new coming up on his scan. Same results as the grandmother; almost complete neural shut-down.

"What is that?" Bishop asked.

"Sonic screwdriver." The Doctor replied offhandedly, placing the screwdriver back in his pocket, "Why take their face?" He reached over and brushed a loose piece of her hair behind her ear, pausing and blinking in surprise as he caught himself doing the action almost involuntarily. The door opened and Rose rushed in, tears streaming down her face. He jumped back from Danni as if he'd been electrocuted and held his arms out, scooping Rose into a hug.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay." He whispered reassuringly before holding her at arms length, "What happened?"

"We were at that Magpie's store, and the television started talking to us. This... energy came out of the screen and Danni pushed me out of the way. Then I was woken up by _him._" She motioned to Crabtree before sniffing and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. At first she had been scared for Danni, then she'd been dragged to a police station before finally being reunited with the Doctor. Her mind had been racing about what this meant for her friend, she really hoped the Doctor could reverse it.

"She tried to save you?" The Doctor scoffed and she glared at him.

"Yes, she did. She always does. She tries to save you as well, if you haven't noticed! She's a good person, if you'd give her half a chance!" Rose snapped in reply before pausing and taking a deep breath. She wasn't really angry at him, she could never be angry at him, "Look, whatever happened to her, she has to be scared and she did that for me. And then he just chucked her out into the street, knowing she'd be scooped up and forgotten about." She continued, calmer this time. She really hated the way this regeneration reacted to Danni, as if he physically couldn't stand to be around her. She didn't understand why, his old self had almost been amused by the space-hopping ginger. Danni had often told her about the future Doctor and he was fine with her as well, so something must change. She just hoped it was soon. The Doctor studied Danni, who stood there motionless and faceless, her head tilted up slightly. If she'd had eyes, she would have been looking straight at him asking him for help.

"He left you both in the street?" Rose grinned; he said 'both', and nodded, "That makes things... simple. Very, very simple. Do you know why?" He tore his gaze from Danni, taking his glasses off as he faced the two other men in the room. They started slightly as they realised they were actually being included in the conversation.

"No..." Bishop replied.

"Because NOW_, _Detective Inspector Bishop, there is no power on this Earth that can stop me. Come on!" He turned and headed out of the door, grabbing Rose by the hand. She smiled as she wrapped her fingers around his and they headed out of the room together.

_~0~0~0~_

_First, I'd like to apologise for the jump from the last story to this. Honestly, it was really bugging me so I just glossed over it XD Sorry if it seems a bit abrupt, but we got 10 and Rose, so yey! XD_

_Hehe, welcome to all you lovely new readers. I've had so many reviews/favourites this week I've been jumping around like a school girl. Enjoy Danni, or, well what we'll see of Danni cause she has no face at the moment so she won't have the biggest part in this story. I hope over the rest of the story you think I've added Rose in properly. _

_Jack is coming soon, for all of you who want him to meet Danni. I keep going over the chapters because I still don't think they're flirting enough, even though they're kinda busy with everything that's happening XD_

_And yes, I've started a smut chapter for all of you peeps who want it XD It'll be in a separate story, and may be terrible so I'll warn you now XD I just need a title, so if you have any suggestions please leave them in the little box._

_I've also decided to split the story into three parts, so there's only... 6 or 7 chapters left of this one, depending on how I end up splitting up the story. But then we'll get onto... The Time Child: Insanity Calling! *gasp*_

_See ya'll Tuesday!_


	35. The Faceless Ginger

The Doctor, Rose and Bishop stood outside the Connolly's household on Florizel Street, where the Doctor and Rose had first encountered the people with no faces. Rose looked up at the house, a steely look of determination on her face. She was going to help Danni, because she was Rose Tyler. That's what Danni always said, 'Rose Tyler, Defender of the Universe'. She may not be as powerful as the ginger girl said, but she could do this. The Doctor pressed the doorbell, he had barely said a word since they'd left the police station. He's just directed them where to go but had been silent through everything else. Every so often Rose had seen a flicker of something in his eyes, if she had to put a name to it, it would have been guilt. Maybe the Time Lord was finally feeling remorse over how he'd treated Danni in the past.

The door opened and Tommy, the teenager who'd first alerted them to his grandma, appeared looking surprised and slightly wary at the presence of the three people.

"Tommy, talk to me." The Doctor stated, getting right down to business, "I need to know exactly what happened inside your house." Tommy stepped outside, pulling the door closed behind him, but his dad caught it and threw it back open violently, turning on his son.

"What the blazes do you think you're doing?" He yelled at Tommy, who flinched away from the man.

"I wanna help, dad." Tommy explained.

"Mr Connolly..." The Doctor said warningly, Mr Connolly turning to him. He walked up to him, his face right up against the Doctor's as he tried to intimidate him, but the Doctor just blinked down at him, unfazed.

"Shut your face, you." Mr Connolly snarled, "Whoever you are. We can handle this ourselves." He turned back to his son, "Listen you, little twerp. You're hardly out of the bloomin' cradle, so I don't expect you to understand. But I've got a position to maintain. People round here _respect _me. It _matters_ what people _think_."He insisted, emphasising his words with a movement of his hand.

"Is that why you did it, dad?" Tommy asked boldly and Mr Connolly blinked, surprised at his son talking back.

"What d'you mean? Did what?" He asked back.

"You ratted on gran. How else would the police know where to look? Unless some coward told them..."

"How DARE you?" Mr Connolly raged, "You think I fought a war just so a mouthy little scum like you could call me a coward?"

"You don't get it, do you? You fought against fascism, remember? People telling you how to live - who you could be friends with - who you could fall in love with - who could live and who had to die. Don't you get it? You were fighting so that little twerps like me could _do_ what we want. _Say _what we want. Now you've become just like them. You've been informing on everyone, haven't you? Even gran. All to protect your precious reputation." Tommy ranted back, all of his repressed resentment finally getting released at his father. His mum appeared in the doorway, shocked at what her husband could have done.

"Eddie... is that true?"

"I did it for us, Rita! She was filthy! A filthy, disgusting _thing!_" He shouted, almost foaming at the mouth in his disgust.

"She's my mother." Rita replied quietly, "All the others - you informed on all the people in our street - our friends."

"I had to." He insisted, "I did the right thing!"

"The right thing for us or for you, Eddie?" He didn't reply, he couldn't reply and she turned to her son, "You go, Tommy. You go with the Doctor and do some good. Get away from this house. It's poison." She turned to her husband, near tears, "We had a ruddy monster under this roof, all right, but it weren't my mother!" She slammed the door shut and headed back to the party inside.

"Tommy?" Rose called gently, holding her hand out towards the boy in encouragement. He took a last look at his father, banging on the door to get his wife to let him back inside, then took the offered hand.

_~0~0~0~_

The foursome headed down the street, Rose still holding Tommy's hand, who was staring at her as the people around them set up for the impending street party.

"Tommy," The boy looked over at the man, blushing slightly as if he'd been caught, "tell me about that night. The night she changed." He nodded, realising he wanted to know about his gran.

"She was just watching the telly." The Doctor slowed down as he span in a circle, looking up at all the aerials.

"That's what that energy came out of." Rose explained, "There was this woman who talked to us, then she tried to get me, but Danni pushed me out of the way."

"You said it." The Doctor breathed in realisation, "You guessed it straight away," He grinned at her, Rose smiling widely back, "Of course you did. All these aerials in one little street - how come?"

"There's a shop up the road, Magpie. He's selling them off really cheap." She replied and Tommy nodded in agreement.

"That's where we got ours from. Gran was always watching it." The Doctor began running off down the street, not waiting for any of the others. The quicker he got to Magpie, the quicker he could find out what had happened and could fix Danni. And the others too, obviously. He ran faster, trying to brush the image of her faceless body out of his head. He didn't know why it bothered him so much, he hadn't cared when she had been taken over by Cassandra. Or when she'd been separated in Scotland with the werewolf. But now... He shook his head and looked back over his shoulder.

"Come on!"

_~0~0~0~_

Danni tried to look around, but all she could see was blackness. It reached out in front of her for what seemed like forever, but when she tried to turn her head she couldn't. She began to panic and raise her hands up to feel in front of her, but she couldn't move them either. She was stuck in the same position, looking out into the black forever.

"Hello?" She called out, her voice high-pitched, "Is anyone there?"

"Just me, dearie." A female voice replied. Danni looked around as much as she could, what with her head stuck in the one position, but she couldn't see anything.

"Who are you? Can you tell me where I am?"

"Don't you know?" The female voice taunted, "You and your little friend seemed to know too much."

"Please... I don't know where I am." She stuttered, terrified, "Please tell me."

"You're in The Wire. And I'm hungry!" The female voice called again. Danni whimpered as she remembered what had happened. Somewhere, out beyond the blackness, was her body without a face. She hoped Rose was all right. She took a deep breath and looked out into the darkness.

"Rose!" She called, "Save Rose!"

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor smashed the glass on Magpie's door, not even bothering with his sonic screwdriver as he broke into the shop.

"Here, you can't do that-" Bishop protested but the Doctor ignored him, shoving his hand through the hole he'd made and unlocking the door from the outside. Rose stared at him in shock as he chucked the door open, storming inside.

"Is he always like this?" Tommy asked and she shook her head. He always seemed more discreet that that.

"No," She told him, "he must be really worried about..." She trailed off, thinking about Danni. She knew what she'd become in the future, what she was to the Doctor. Was this the beginning of this, or was he just feeling guilty about how he'd treated her?

"Shop?" The Doctor yelled as he strode over to the counter, pressing the bell on it over and over again, "If you're here, come out and talk to me! MAGPIE?" Rose rushed over, placing a hand over his to stop his hammering. He looked down at her, deflating at the sight of his Rose, fine and smiling encouragingly up at him. He grasped her hand.

"Maybe he's out." Tommy pointed out timidly and the Doctor nodded, not looking anywhere but at Rose.

"Looks like it..." He agreed, pulling Rose behind the counter. He began searching through the drawers built into the counter, discarding most of the content until he found a device with a small screen built into it. He pulled it out, looking at it quizzically, "Oh, hello... this isn't right. This is very much not right." He licked the top of it, surprising Tommy and Bishop but causing Rose to roll her eyes. This version of him loved to taste things, she meant to ask Danni if it continued on, "Tastes like iron. Bakelite." He exclaimed as he placed it back down on the counter.

"Isn't that plastic?" Rose asked and the Doctor nodded, "But televisions barely been invented, what's a portable one doing here? Is it alien?"

"Not quite." The Doctor replied, "Put together with human hands, yes, but the design itself..." He pulled out his screwdriver and scanned it, illuminating the device in a blue glow, "Oh, beautiful work. That is so simple." He praised.

"That's incredible. It's like a television, but portable. A portable television!" Bishop breathed, unable to believe that the device in front of him existed. What would technology come up with next?

"It's not the only power source in this room..." The Doctor continued, lifting his screwdriver up and pointing it at the televisions. The screens all turned on, showing snowy static.

"What is it?" Rose asked. The static gradually faded away, leaving behind the images of the faces of the people who were taken by the Wire, each in a different monitor. They all looked terrified, calling silently for help.

"Gran?" Tommy exclaimed in horror, Rose placing a hand on the boys shoulder in comfort before following the Doctor onto the shops main floor.

"Doctor!" She cried, also horrified as she spotted Danni in one screen on the bottom corner, staring out into the room. The Doctor knelt down, watching intensely as Danni continued to mouth 'Rose, Save Rose'. She wasn't asking for help, she didn't look as scared as everyone else, she was worried about Rose. Her last thought had been for Rose.

"I will. I'm on my way." He promised her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Magpie entered from the back of the shop, pushing past the bead curtain hanging in the doorway. The Doctor shot up and stormed over, leaning over the man.

"I want my friend restored and I think that's beyond a little backstreet electrician so tell me, who's really in charge here?" He snarled, Magpie flinching away at his anger.

"Yoohoo!" A female voice called and they all turned to look at the woman who had just appeared in a screen, "I think that must be me. Ooh, this one's smart as paint." She declared. The Doctor slowly walked over to the television, staring at it in surprise, "Oh, and it's the pretty girl from last night as well. Isn't this my lucky day?"

"Is she talking to us?" Bishop asked and Rose nodded.

"She is. It's the same woman from before, Doctor." Rose told him and he nodded, Rose just confirming his thoughts.

"Sorry gentlemen, miss, I'm... I'm afraid you've brought this on yourselves. May I introduce you to my new... friend."

"Jolly nice to meet you." The woman on the television said with a smile.

"Oh my God, it's her, that woman off the telly." Bishop exclaimed.

"No, it's just using her image." The Doctor explained, eyeing the box suspiciously. This must be how it camouflaged itself; tricked people into thinking it was just 'Watch with Mother'.

"What are you?" Rose asked, her voice shaking slightly but confidently. They needed to know to save Danni, but the woman had tried to steal her face.

"I'm the Wire," She declared with a big smile, "and I will gobble you up, pretty boy. Every last morsel. And when I have feasted, I shall regain the corporeal body, which my fellow-kind denied me." The screen began to gradually turn from black-and-white to a colour picture, Tommy and Bishop staring at it in amazement.

"Good Lord - colour television!" Bishop exclaimed, eyes wide.

"So your own people tried to stop you?" The Doctor asked, his face set in a firm frown.

"They executed me. But I escaped - in this form - and fled across the stars." The Wire replied proudly.

"But your trapped inside the television." Rose pointed out and the Wire frowned, the colour draining from the screen as she did.

"Not for much longer." The Wire promised. Tommy turned to Rose, looking up at the blonde who was glaring at the woman on the screen.

"Is this what got my gran?" He asked her and she nodded.

"And Danni too." She looked down at the screen where the girl was still mouthing her name, repeating the same phrase over and over like she was on a loop.

"It feeds off the electrical activity of the brain, but it gorges itself like a great overfed pig. Taking people's faces, their essences, it stuffs itself." The Doctor spat, staring the woman down as she smirked, pleased with herself.

"And you let her do it, Magpie." Bishop snapped at the man behind the counter.

"I had to! She allowed me my face! She's promised to release me at the time of manifestation." Magpie replied, stating the phrase as if he was repeating what she had told him. By the terrified look on his face, the Doctor guessed he'd be reassuring himself with that promise for a while.

"What does that mean?" Tommy asked.

"The appointed time - my crowning glory." The Wire hinted and Rose gasped in shock, looking up at the Doctor.

"The coronation!" She exclaimed and he nodded.

"For the first time in history, millions gathered around a television set." He slowly approached the screen, a smirk appearing on his face, "But you're not strong enough yet, are you? You can't do it all from here. That's why you need this!" He held up the portable television, "You need something more powerful! This will turn a big transmitter into a big receiver."

"What a clever thing you are! But why fret about it? why not just relax? Kick off your shoes and enjoy the coronation. Believe me - you'll be glued to the screen." The Wire gloated as four pink shots of energy shot out, attaching themselves to the faces of the four people. It began to pull their faces into the television.

"Doctor!" Tommy, Rose and the Detective Inspector all cried in terror.

"Hungry! Hungry! The Wire is hungry! Ah! This one is tasty. Oh! I'll have lashings of him! Delicious! Ah!" The Wire crowed.

Danni winced as lightening began to flash in the darkness she was trapped in. Big flashes of pink left spots in her otherwise hindered vision, after all it wasn't like she could see much of anything now she was a face on a television screen.

"What's happening?" She called, hoping the Wire would reply.

"Your friends came back for you," The female voice replied, "And now they're going to join you. So hungry!" The female voice replied.

"You leave them alone you..." She frowned, what do you call a rogue transmission? "You old rerun!" The female voice chuckled.

"They are so tasty. The male, he is such a clever thing." An image of the Doctor's face flashed into her vision, only there for a moment. He looked surprised, he must have seen her too.

"Doctor!" She cried, the image of Rose then two other people flashing, before going back to the Doctor, "Screwdriver!" She managed to call before he changed into the blonde again.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor struggled against the pull of the energy, gorging itself on the mass of electrical energy pulsing through his brain. He must been a banquet compared to the humans she had tried up until that moment. His hand made it's way into his jacket pocket, pulling out his screwdriver with a lot of difficulty.

"Armed!" The Wire exclaimed with a gasp, "He's armed and clever! Withdraw! Withdraw!" In panic, she severed the connection between them and herself, and they all fell to the floor, unconscious.

_~0~0~0~_

The lightening stopped flashing around her as moments after Danni called to the Doctor as she grinned happily. Look at the, the first time Ten ever listened to her.

"Withdraw! Withdraw!" The Wire called, her panicked cry echoing through the consciousness of everyone she had taken. Danni barked out a laugh.

"Don't mess with my Doctor, you old witch. You won't win." She warned the voice, but got no reply. She smirked to herself, staring out into the blackness once more.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor shot up from the floor of Magpie's shop, immediately checking on Rose who was out cold next to him. Sighing in relief that she had a face, he gently shook her awake. She groaned then sat up next to him.

"That was horrible." She moaned and the Doctor nodded, looking over at the Inspector, who was lying on the ground, flexing his hands but without a face. He reached over, shaking Tommy's leg who, fortunately, was still in tact.

"Tommy, wake up!" The boy didn't stir, so he tried harder, "Tommy! Come on!"

"What happened?" The boy asked groggily as he propped himself up on his elbows.

"Where's Magpie?" The Doctor asked in reply, scrambling off the floor. Rose helped Tommy up and they all ran outside to find Magpie's van had gone.

"We don't even know where to start looking - it's too late." Tommy despaired.

"It's never too late," The Doctor replied instantly, "as a wise person once said - Kylie I think... But the Wire's got a big plan... so it'll need... yes, yes, yes, it's got to harness half the population... millions and millions of people... and where are we?"

"Muswell Hill." Tommy replied, confused as to why the Doctor didn't know this.

"Muswell Hill?" His eyes widened in realisation, "Muswell Hill! Which means..." He ran around Tommy, standing at the end of the street and looking out towards a large building on the horizon.

"Oh, I know this!" Rose exclaimed happily, "Alexandra Palace!" The Doctor beamed at her, gestering to the building with both hands.

"Alexandra Palace" He confirmed, "biggest TV transmitter in North London! Ohh! That's why they chose this place!" He grabbed Rose by the hand and pulled her back inside the shop, "Tommy?"

"What are you going to do?" Tommy asked, following them in.

"We're going shopping."

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor was crouched on the floor of the shop, rummaging through some drawers as Rose and Tommy helped him find the pieces he was looking for. Neither of them really knew what he was building, he just shouted random words at them and they were trying to match it to the description he gave them after they shot him blank looks. There was already a small pile on the counter and Tommy popped up from behind it holding what looked like a black light bulb.

"Is this what you want?" He asked the Doctor, who jumped up and took it out of his hands, examining it.

"Perfect!" He placed it on top of the pile of pieces before picking the pile up, "Right, I need one more thing." He handed the pile to Tommy, who struggled to wrap his arms around it. He then dashed out of the door.

"Does he always do that?" Tommy asked Rose, who nodded.

"Every time." She replied and they headed for the door, pausing when she saw Danni's face, no longer mouthing her name. She was smirking, like she knew something no one else did. Rose shook her head and followed Tommy out and down the street after the Doctor. He led them to the TARDIS, diving inside and slamming the door shut before they could enter after him. He appeared moments later with a large yellow wire wrapped around his neck, placing something in his pocket.

"Got it, let's go." He told the pair.

"What's going to happen?" Rose asked as they ran down the street.

"Magpie's going to transmit the Wire across every broadcast of the Coronation. Millions upon millions of people for the Wire to feast on. She'll gain enough energy to create a physical form."

"Is that bad?" The Doctor shot her a look, "Well, apart from the millions of people she's going to suck the faces off. Once she's out of the television, then what?"

"Her kind executed her for a reason, I don't think we want to find that out." The Doctor stuck his sonic screwdriver in his mouth as he pulled out the part of the device he'd shoved in his pocket. He tinkered with it for a moment before plugging it into the mass of equipment Tommy was carrying.

_~0~0~0~_

With the mass of equipment finally made into whatever the Doctor had intended it to be, he yanked it off Tommy as they ran around into the courtyard of Alexandra Palace.

"Look!" Rose pointed at Magpie's van, "He must be here somewhere."

"There!" Tommy cried and they all looked up at the huge transmission pylon, Magpie halfway up it with the Wire around his neck.

"Come on!" The Doctor urged as they ran past two officials.

"Woah, Woah, woah! Where do you think-" The Doctor flashed him his phycic paper, not even pausing as continued around the building, "Oh! I'm sorry sir! Shouldn't you be at the coronation?"

"They're saving us a seat!" Rose called back as they turned a corner.

"Who did he think you were?" Tommy asked, confused. The Doctor glanced at the paper, smiling slightly at it.

"King and Queen of Belgium, apparently." Tommy grinned, amazed at the man he was following. He was a genius, and so brave. He hoped he'd turn out like the Doctor, and not like his father. He'd fight for justice, not for his reputation.

"Queen?" Rose teased and he shot her a beaming smile. He led them straight to the control room, throwing the door open with a bang as he rushed over the main unit. He used the wire and device he connected his hand-made machine up to the console. He patted it twice for good measure then ran cross the room, grabbing a large reel of copper wire.

"Keep it switched on." He told them both, "Don't let anyone stop you. Everything depends on it. You understand?" Tommy and Rose both nodded as he began unravelling the wire, attaching the reel to his waist.

"What are you going to do?" Rose asked him.

"Stop Magpie." He replied shortly, "Stay here, don't let it stop." He ran out and around the building, the reel uncoiling quickly as he trailed the wire behind him. He ran up the metal stairs Magpie had used to get to the transmitter, then began climbing it himself. He quickly ascended it, getting to the man and the Wire as he was attaching the portable television to the transmitter. Large spikes of red lightning shot out of the top of the tower, stretching out across the world as it attacked every person in front of the television watching the coronation. The Doctor could hear the Wire laughing maniacally and his brows furrowed in determination. He wasn't going to let her win, he was going to save everyone. He was going to save Danni.

"It's too late! It's too late for all of us!" Magpie cried forlornly as he clung to the transmitter, eyes slammed shut.

_~0~0~0~_

Danni hoped that she was never left in the dark ever again. She could see this becoming a problem in the future, the vast eeriness of the darkness around her spread through her consciousness, chilling her in a way she wasn't sure was possible. Had she been with someone, she probably would have been all right, but the with the darkness spreading in front of her for eternity, and unable to move, it felt like she'd never be safe or secure again.

She gasped as the blackness around her was suddenly illuminated with lightning, no longer weak and pink but a deep red as the Wire quickly absorbed the power she was being given. The surprise of it's appearance actually scared her and instead of feeling relieved at some light, she slammed her eyes shut. Light danced behind her eyelids.

"Oh, feast." The female voice called, "Feasting. The Wire is feasting." Screams and groans of the people who's face she was stealing began filtering through wherever Danni was. She guessed it was the same for everyone who'd been taken by the Wire.

"Let them go!" She cried angrily, "Because the Doctor will stop you, and he'll be kinder if you let them go."

"I shall consume you Doctor." The female voice bit out, and she realised the Wire wasn't talking to her, that this was filtering from the outside. That it was almost over, the Doctor would save them soon.

_~0~0~0~_

"I shall consume you Doctor." A bolt of lightning shot out at him and he cried out in pain as he lost his balance.

"I won't let you do this, Magpie!" The Doctor shouted in promise, but Magpie was too distressed to hear the warning.

"Help me Doctor! It burns! It took my face - my soul!"

"You cannot stop the Wire." The woman declared, "Soon I shall become manifest." Another bolt shot out and his footing slipped again. He dangled in mid-air again but managed to pull himself back up.

"No more of this! You promised me peace!" Magpie sobbed in pain.

"And peace you shall have." The Wire shot a bolt at the man, causing him to let go of the transmitter. He cried out as, instead of falling, he exploded into thousands of particles in the air. The Wire laughed triumphantly. The Doctor reached out to touch the portable television but was zapped back by another red spark.

"Been burning the candle at both ends? You've overextended yourself missus. You shouldn't have had a crack at poor old Magpie there." He reached over and grabbed the television, a zap of lightning catching him in the foot. He laughed, "Rubber souls! Swear by them!" He grabbed a small switch out of his pocket and stuck it into the back of the television, but nothing happened.

"Oh dear! Has our little plan gone horribly wrong, Doctor?" The Wire laughed as the Doctor stared at the screen, horrified.

_~0~0~0~_

Rose paced in the control room as the coronation played on the many screens, showing each individual camera angle. Tommy stood in front of the machine protectively, there was no way anyone was getting past that teenage boy. Rose didn't like leaving the Doctor alone, he needed someone to help him but he'd ran out so quickly and with a plan obviously in his mind, she had just stayed behind. An image of Danni calling her name over and over again flashed in her mind and she shuddered; it was probably best she left him to it, if it saved her and everyone else.

She yelled in surprise as a bolt of red electricity shot through the wire the Doctor had taken, striking the box and exploding one of the protruding parts on it.

"What was that?" Tommy exclaimed.

"I think it was the Wire." Rose replied, looking around, "I think it's broken." She explained. What did they do now? The Doctor was no where to be seen, and he had made it very clear this... whatever it was, was very important. Tommy looked around the room, looking as confused as she was until his eyes fell on something on one of the many shelves. He rushed over and grabbed a piece of equipment, unplugging the machine from the mains before replacing the blown one with what he had found. The machine came back to life and she pulled him into a hug.

"Oh, you are so clever!" She cried, bouncing up and down in excitement. A red tinge appeared on the boys face as he grinned, for the first time proud of himself. The red light began surging across the box, whatever the Doctor had intended it to do was obviously working and Rose cheered.

_~0~0~0~_

The red lightning beams began retreating from the pylons and aerials, all surging back to the transmitter and down to the portable television. The Doctor laughed happily as the Wire writhed in pain, groaning and screaming out her pain at being thwarted.

"It's closed down, I'm afraid - and no epilogue." He taunted as with one last scream, the Wire disappeared. The television switched off, leaving just a small white dot in the middle of the screen for a moment. The Doctor stared at it, relief rushing through him as he frowned in confusion. Why was he so happy?

_~0~0~0~_

Danni gasped as her eyes shot open. She span on the spot, frowning at the sight of the office she was in. She felt so relieved as she reached up, running a hand through her hair. Oh thank god, she was back in her body. She stopped, biting her lip. Why wouldn't she be back in her body? Where had she been?

She stuck her head out into the hallway, seeing a man stride down it. He blinked when he saw her, he obviously recognised her but was surprised to her see her as she had been to find herself in an office.

"Hello, sorry." She apologised, "I was just wondering, can you help me? I don't seem to know where I am."

_~0~0~0~_

Tommy and Rose watched the end of the coronation, Rose's arm still around the shoulders of the boy as he leant on the console top next to the Doctor's mysterious device.

"What have I missed?" The Doctor asked and Tommy jumped away from Rose in fright, as if he'd been caught hugging the man's girlfriend or something.

"Doctor!" He squeaked before clearing his throat, "What happened?"

"Sorted." The Doctor replied, striding over to the pair, smirking smugly at Rose, "Electrical creature, TV technology, clever alien life form," He turned to Tommy, "that's me by the way." Tommy blinked in reply, "I turned the receiver back into a transmitter and I trapped the Wire in here." He grabbed Rose's hand in his own, while using the other to press a button on the machine. The lid popped up, revealing a video cassette, "I just invented the home video 30 years earlier." He told her proudly. She laughed and took it out, examining it.

"Wait, this doesn't look like a video. Is this some alien thing?" She asked, showing him it. He took it off her and pouted.

"Betamax." He muttered and she rolled her eyes at him. Should have known, he built his own video recorder but it's not the one that stuck, "Oh look! God save the Queen, eh?" He motioned to the screen, drawing their attention away from his device and to the coronation. He tucked it discreetly into his pocket.

_~0~0~0~_

_I know, you're all thinking 'Oh my god, two chapters in a day?! What's going on?'. Well, that my dears is because Chapter 36 is only 2 pages long. That is because it's the start of the smut chapter, which I'm also posting today. It's got the very original title of 'The Time Child: Outtakes', because I had no idea what to call it, but I get ideas for Danni that won't fit into the story arc that I've planned so they may go in there. Maybe, anyway I'd say go read and review it, but as I'm very British promoting things of that nature still makes me feel all embarassed, but it's there XD_

_Review replies I will place on the next chapter to try and bulk out the document! See ya in Chapter 36! xxx_


	36. The Very Accepting Doctors

The trio headed back to the street outside the police station to see a gathering of people all talking animately. Tommy and Rose scanned the crowd while the Doctor tried his hardest to not seem like he was looking for anyone, let alone Danni.

"Gran!" Tommy exclaimed as he ran towards his grandmother, who held her arms out wide for him. They hugged tightly and Rose smiled slightly before it turned into a full-blown beam.

"Danni!" She shouted. He followed her as she ran towards the red-head, who met her halfway and hugged her tightly. He frowned slightly as Rose lifted the girl off her feet, only being able to spin her around given her small stature. Why on Earth did she not have any shoes on?

"Oh, look at you." Rose was saying as he reached them, holding Danni out at arms length before pulling her back in for a hug, "I didn't think I'd see your face again. Are you okay?" Danni nodded with a laugh.

"Of course I'm okay. With Rose Tyler on the case, I was always going to be fine." Rose finally let go of her and Danni straightened her dress out, "I can't even remember what happened. I hope your head's okay." Rose frowned.

"My head?" She inquired.

"Because I pushed you over?" Danni clarified.

"Oh! Yes, I'm fine." They stood in silence for a moment until Danni looked up at the Doctor, smiling shyly.

"Thanks for saving me." She told him cautiously, not really knowing how he was going to react. She expected a large rant about her getting into trouble when he had better things to do with his time, that he was supposed to be taking Rose to see Elvis instead of gallivanting around after her. So, she was very surprised when he cleared his throat and looked around the crowd, purposefully not looking at the pair.

"Yeah, well. Don't do it again." He told her and she blinked in shock. Rose beamed, he finally seemed to be accepting her, "And, I have to ask, why aren't you wearing shoes?"

_~0~0~0~_

The street party had been amazing. Rose had spent a large portion of the journey back to Florizel street trying to convince them to go to the Mall, where the official street party was happening, but when Danni had declared she wanted to be at a proper street party she had relented. The Doctor had even argued a case in favour of staying with Tommy and his family, when previously he would have gone to the Mall just to spite her. He had also tried to convince her to go put some shoes on with the TARDIS being just around the corner, but Danni never really did like wearing shoes. She had been disappointed as, when they finally did head back to the TARDIS, her arm started with it's familiar burn.

That didn't last long, however, because as soon as she landed she found herself being pressed against the wall by Eleven, lips locked passionately as he pushed her against the wall. She gasped in surprise, she hadn't expected him to be on her, and so quickly as well. He used her surprise to his advantage, his tongue dominating her mouth as his hand ran up her thigh, bunching her dress in his hand and grasping it tightly. She leant back as far as she could, whacking her head slightly on the TARDIS wall.

"Doctor... What..." She panted out but he interrupted her, kissing her again.

"Please." Was all he said in reply, his other hand forcing it's way around her back, undoing the zip holding the dress together. She froze as her eyes widened, the implications of his words freezing the blood in her veins. He moved to her neck, drawing a surprised moan from her lips as he suckled on the flesh there, teeth nipping and tongue soothing. He wanted to have... and she hadn't...

"Doctor, wait." She told him as firmly as possible as he tugged her dress down, it gathering around her bare feet. He pulled back, looking at her confused. His eyes widened in realisation.

"Oh god, you're the wrong Danni." He breathed. He jumped back, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Here, let me..." He bent down and scrambled on the floor as he tried to grab her dress. She grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to stop and look up at her.

"Stop it!" She commanded and he stood up slowly, staring at her, looking lost, "Just, stop for a moment." She repeated, gently, "What's wrong?"

"Amy and Rory left." He eventually replied, "They had to. I had to save them, but..." She nodded slowly, understanding perfectly. She stroked his hair gently and he leant into her touch, closing his eyes. A tear fell from under his thick lashes as she gasped, her heart breaking slightly for him.

"Oh, my poor Theta." She whispered, not meaning to say anything out loud. She leant up and placed a kiss on his lips. He reached out and grasped her bare arms, his fingers digging into her almost painfully. His kiss was desperate, but restrained. As if he wanted to let go, but knowing he couldn't. She reached out and touched his chest, feeling the four beats under her hand. She, slowly, began undoing the buttons on his shirt and he pulled back.

"Danni, don't..." He tried to reassure her, not wanting her to feel pressured but she shook her head, shushing him gently. She pushed her hands underneath, trailing over his chest. His breath hitched at her touched, his muscles twitching and she felt a surge of empowerment coursing through her. She stepped out of the dress pooled at her feet and leant forward, placing a kiss in the centre of his chest, between his two hearts. His eyes burnt into hers when she looked up at him. All of her breath left her lungs and she took an unsteady breath in, swallowing.

"I don't want to do this here." She told him and his eyes widened slightly, the connotation of her words falling thick in the air. She blushed when he didn't say anything, and looked away, feeling rejected. Stupid girl, he's going to...

"Come on." He told her huskily, grabbing her hand and dragging her through the hallways.

_~0~0~0~_

_Hello again XD It's been ages, hasn't it? :P_

_Right, reviews were awesome-sauce! Thanks you XD_

_Everyone seems to be up for some Jack/Danni flirting times. That's good, but is the Doctor? :P_

_Yes, I decided to split the stories up because I think it'll flow better that way. As it stands, the next one is going to be the longest one so length won't be an issue XD_

_I love the The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, I have something special planned for that two-parter in terms of Danni's story. In Dalek, the Doctor wasn't actually that wary of her, he just didn't know who she was. So, what happens to make him distrustful of her? *evilsmileyface*_

_Nice to see people as excited by the Master as I am. The only thing better than one Time Lord is two :P Oh, the mind races as a bushy-haired woman once said._

_Jack and Alexis? Hmm, it does have a ring to it, I'll have to keep it in mind if I reach the point where Ianto dies :P What it is with 9 is... I'm doing every episode, although if there is one I wasn't doing that people really want me to do I would try and work it in, and so with 9 there's only like... maybe 6 I've got planned. One is obviously when he meets her, and we know she wasn't there when he regenerated to 10, so it'll look sparce with 9 but she must make a big enough impact as 9 for him to dislike her as 10. And thanks for the past/passed thing. I put passed first, but changed it when I edited it to put up. I should have stayed with my instincts XD_

_Aww, thanks so much for adding me to your community. I feel very honoured, have a cookie *cookie* XD_


	37. The Stolen Earth

Jack Harkness groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, a small metal shelving unit on top of him. His office in the Torchwood Hub was a complete mess, caused by an earthquake that had ran right through the base. His papers and computer were strewn across the floor, and the lamp Ianto had bought him was smashed on the floor. He'd been following a possible lead in Russia; there had been reports of a large meteorite falling across the sky but he had a feeling it was more than that, when a surprise earthquake had shaken him and everything else in the base to the floor.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed as he looked around the room, "What happened? Must be the rift..." The ceiling crumbled slightly as the light swung from the force. He headed out of the office, "Gwen? Ianto? Are you okay?" He yelled as he reached the doorway, finding his two friends on the floor in a pile of mess much like he had found himself. Equipment was smashed around them and they both were covered in dust.

"No broken bones," Ianto reported, "slight loss of dignity. No change there, then."

"The whole city must've felt that!" Gwen declared, shocked as she climbed off the floor, "The whole of South Wales!"

"I'm gonna take a look outside..." Jack told them as he headed for the door, a large, incredibly secure circle of metal that opened like it was unlocking a vault. He sprinted up the many stairs leading down to the Hub and onto the plaza outside. There were a few members of the public stood staring at the sky in disbelief. While it was only mid-morning, it was completely dark, like night. However, that's not what held their attention. Jack stared upwards, his mouth slightly open at the sight of a mass of planets hanging in the sky, seemly so close he felt he could reach out and touch them. He instantly knew they were not from their solar system, but where had they come from?

"That's just impossible..." He whispered to himself as a light flashed behind him and Danni stumbled into existance. She panted in pain, that... that had been something else entirely. While normally she felt like she was being transported elsewhere, this time it felt like she's been ripped from the TARDIS. It was a good thing she had managed to get changed into a pair of red pajamas, as moments later she had been taken from his room to a dark street. The Doctor said she kept them in his room so she always had something to get changed into in case she was suddenly thrown somewhere else, apparently she'd planned ahead for this.

"Woah! That was rough..." She groaned, clutching her arm to her stomach as she span around, trying to locate where she was. Her gaze fell on the 51st Century man and her eyes went wide, "Oh my god, Jack?" She asked unsurely. Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

"Danni-Girl." He replied in confirmatin, "Love the pyjamas." She blushed deeply, "Does that mean the Doctor's coming too?" He asked hopefully. Wherever she was, he knew the Doctor wasn't too far behind. She didn't answer him as she stared up at the sky, mouth open just like he had done moments earlier.

"Oh no..." She gasped in horror, "this is the Stolen Earth." This was the beginning of the end for Donna. She didn't want to be here, she really didn't. She took a deep breath then looked over at Jack, realising she hadn't answered him "Er.. He will, but not yet." She told him vaguely, "We need to get back inside." He nodded and took her hand, leading down into the hub where Gwen and Ianto were staring at a screen. Gwen saw her and smiled gently.

"Wasn't expecting to see you here." She teased the ginger, who smiled shyly.

"Yeah... I think I should start by saying I've not met any of you yet."

"Not even me?" Jack asked her, surprised and she shook her head, "Oh, I'm hurt Danni-Girl." She frowned at his use of her nickname; only the Doctor ever called her that, and really only Eleven did. Ten did sometimes, but only after a bit of prompting in the early days. Nine didn't called her it, but then again she'd only met him once so maybe he did.

"Don't worry, I've been looking forward to it." She told him, replacing the frown with a smile and a wink. Jack lifted her hand and planted a kiss on her knuckles, smirking up at her with an expression she was all-to-familiar with.

"Captain Jack Harkness." He introduced himself. She giggled at the attention, then stopped, surprised at herself. He really did have that affect on women, and men if the look Ianto was shooting her was anything to go by. She smiled as she repeated the action back.

"Danielle Fielding." She replied in the same tone, "Taken, I'm afraid but always checking my options." She winked and Jack smiled in reply, amaused by her retort. Maybe that's how they always knew each other, harmlessly flirting. Heaven forbid he ever met River.

"Rhys!" Gwen shouted suddenly, startling Danni out of her thoughts as she ran up some stairs to get a better signal as she pulled out her mobile phone.

"Okay my sexy Yankee friend, what do you want us to do?" Danni asked Jack, turning from watching the woman scamper away to ring her husband. He opened his mouth to reply but she looked up at Ianto, "I think you should check the media, news reports and any other live feeds while Jack does something clever and sexy on the computer to work out where exactly we've moved to." Jack's mouth stayed open as she seemed to take charge, shocked and ever-so-slightly impressed she knew exactly what he was going to suggest.

"You think we've moved?" Ianto asked.

"I know we have. It's the Madusa Cascade, I think but I can't completely remember."

"Remember?"

"Did you not tell them about me?" Danni asked Jack, "Now _I'm_ hurt."

"Oh I did. They just didn't believe that you're from another universe." Jack replied, "Although, they don't make girls like you here." She rolled her eyes at his blatant flirting.

"Time and a place, Captain." She teased, "But you're right, they don't." She pushed Jack gently towards some advanced-looking equipment, "Impress me, then. Show me something Spock-ish." Jack laughed at the reference to Rose and moved to another piece of machinery, falling into commander-mode as he began typing through the system. Danni turned to Ianto.

"TV time?" She asked him.

"Just a quick question?" Ianto asked her as they headed over to the couch at the other end of the room.

"Shoot." She flopped down, tucking her legs under herself. It didn't matter why she was watching television, she wanted to be comfy while doing it.

"Why are you in your pyjamas?" She blushed slightly, thinking back to her night with the Doctor then straightened out the collor.

"Cause I like to be comfortable while watching television, silly." She patted the cushion next to her, "Now sit down."

_~0~0~0~_

The newsreader on the AMNN did her best to stay calm as she carefully explained the situation to the millions of viewers who were all scared and confused as to what has happened. The headline 'WORLDWIDE EMERGENCY, PLANETS APPEAR IN SKIES' appeared underneath her while a scrolling information bar at the bottom of the screen had a constant loop of further information on the crisis.

"The United Nations have issued an edict asking the citizens of the world not to panic. So far, there has been no explanation of the twenty-six planets which have appeared in the sky." She told them. Ianto pressed a button on the remote and the channel changed, bringing up a programme called 'Universally Speaking'. Richard Dawkins was sat behind a table talking to the presenter who they could only see from the back.

"But it's an empirical fact: the planets didn't come to us, we came to them." Richard explained, "Just look at the stars - we are in a completely different region of space. We've travelled." Ianto pressed the button again and Paul O'Grady appeared behind his desk, his dog Buster sat in on it in front of him.

"Do you know what, I look up and there's all these moons and things - have you seem them? Did you see them?" He asked his audience, who replied with a cry of 'Yes', "I thought, what was I drinking last night? Furniture polish?" Both Ianto and Danni burst out laughing, Danni clapping a hand on Ianto's arm in amusement before she took a drink from the mug she was holding. They'd been sat on the couch for a while, at first nothing was reported except on local radio channel news about earthquakes so Ianto had offered to make them all a cup of tea or coffee, depending on preference. Danni had gone for coffee and they'd just sat there and chatted while they continued to checking the media, waiting for the reports and programmes to start pouring in. Not at all worried about the situation and just happy that she finally got to meet not only Jack, but Ianto and Gwen at the same time, Danni sipped the cup of coffee, patiently waiting for when the Doctor turned up. Jack, who was stood at a computer console, shot an annoyed look at the pair on the sofa.

"Ianto!" He reprimanded, "There's a time and a place."

"He is funny, though." Ianto replied but leant forward to turn the monitor off. Danni reached out and stopped him.

"Don't, I wanna watch him.I love Paul O'Grady and it'd finished where I'm from." Ianto looked suitably outraged.

"He stops doing it?" Danni nodded.

"I know, right?" She exclaimed, "I mean, he moves to ITV to do a post-watershed version but I never really liked it as much as the Channel 4 one." Jack rolled his eyes at the pair while suppressing a smile. He was glad Danni and Ianto were getting along, even though she'd only just met him. Ianto stood up and walked over to Jack to see what's he'd found out.

"Gwen, come and see!" Jack called, not even bothering to see if Danni wanted to have a look. If she did, she'd come over. Gwen began making her way across the platform above them.

"Rhys? I have no idea, just stay indoors." She was saying to her husband over the phone, having been trying to calm him down and convince him she was okay. Once he had finally believed her, he had started demanding to know what was happening, "And can you phone my mother? Tell her um... oh, I don't know, just tell her to take her pills and go to sleep." She paused, looking out across the Hub, "I'm gonna come home as soon as I can. I promise. I love you... you big idiot." She reassured him before hanging up and coming down the stairs to meet her fellow co-workers. Danni laughed at something on the television as they looked at the screen.

"Someone's established an artificial atmospheric shell keeping the air and holding in the heat." Jack explained to them.

"Whoever's done this wants the human race alive. That's a plus." ianto replied dryly. They were gathered around a 3D diagram of the planets surrounding the Earth, Gwen staring at it in surprise and terror, "Twenty-seven planets, including the Earth." Ianto continued as a flashing red dot appeared in the middle of the planets.

"No, but what's that? That's not a planet!" Gwen said uneasily.

"That'll be our lord and masters." They all jumped as Danni spoke, having appeared behind them. She was biting her lip, arms wrapped around her as she stared at the screen intently.

"And that would be..." Jack prompted.

"The Daleks." She replied sadly and Jack shook his head.

"No, the Daleks were destroyed with the original Torchwood in the battle of Canary Wharf." He insisted. Danni rolled her eyes.

"Who here is from another universe with in-depth knowledge of the future?" She asked loudly. She put her hand up in the air, "Anyone else? No? Then maybe you should listen to me." She told him angrily. They all knew where she was from; even if they didn't know why she knew what she knew, they still knew that she had knowledge of events they didn't. And yet, no one ever wanted to listen to her.

"Three-thousand miles and closing." Gwen informed them, interrupting their little argument, "But who are they?!" Jack opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, trying the think of how to describe the Daleks when his phone rang. He looked at it, confused then flipped it open.

"Martha Jones!" He stated lowly, "Voice of a nightingale. Tell me you put something in my drink."

"No such luck." She replied, slightly breathlessly, "Have you heard from the Doctor?"

"Danni's here, but not a word from the man himself." He told her, "Where are you?"

"New York. Danni's there?" She replied hopefully.

"Yeah, which means he shouldn't be far behind. What are you doing in New York?"

"I've been promoted. Medical Director on Project Indigo." She explained.

"Did you get that thing working?" Jack asked, intrigued despite the situation.

"Indigo's top secret. No-one's supposed to know about it." Martha replied.

"Oh, I met a soldier in a bar. Long story."

"When was that?" Ianto looked up at him suspiciously. Jack moved the mouthpiece away.

"Strictly professional." He promised and Ianto nodded, reassured but still slightly wary. Danni smiled at the pair, Ianto being jealous reminded her of how she felt about the Doctor. She blushed slightly as she thought about where she had just come from, then frowned at how rough it had been coming here. Although, seeing the trouble the TARDIS was about the have reaching the 27 planets, she could understand why it hadn't been the smoothest of rides.

"Fifteen-hundred miles, boys, and accelerating. They're almost here." Gwen reminded them pointedly, obviously having been witness to their tiffs in the past. Danni reached up and yanked Jack's phone out of his hands.

"Hey Martha, no time to chit-chat." She told the girl on the other end cheerfully, "It's the Daleks. Yes, the Doctor is on his way, yes he saves the day and yes we'll meet up soon for tea and scones but right now you need to do exactly what you're told, you understand? Follow orders, Martha. You'll be fine, I promise..." She trailed off as a message from the ships was played through the Hub and the base where Martha was simultaneously.

"Exterminate!" The Dalek cry rang through the large cavernous room, echoing in her ear as the message played on a loop.

"No." Jack breathed, his blood running cold as his memories flew back to the last time he'd dealt with the Daleks, "Oh, no." Danni lowered the phone and grabbed his hand with her free one. He squeezed it tightly.

"What is it? Who are they? Do you know them, Jack?" He didn't answer Gwen, instead wrapped an arm around Ianto and pulled him closer, Danni pulling Gwen close with her other arm. He planted a kiss on each of their heads and he clung them.

"There's nothing I can do." He told them hopelessly, "I'm sorry, but we're dead." Danni squeezed her eyes shut, taking in a deep breath. It was one thing to know what was going to happen, it was always another thing entirely when you had to live through it. Just hearing that word in that voice sent chills down her spine.

"Doctor." She whispered, "Please, please hurry."

_~0~0~0~_

Jack rushed over to one of the many monitors as an alarm rang through the hub. Ianto was stood at one monitor, keeping an eye on world events unfolding while Gwen was on another, keeping an eyes on Great Britain.

"The shields are down! There's so many of them! Abandon ship!" A voice filtered through, obviously panicking and as terrified as everyone else. Jack turned to Danni, who was stood to the side by a small kettle they kept nearby, stirring a cup of tea slowly, as if focusing on it with all of her willpower.

"The Valiant's down!" He told her in horror. She looked up and nodded sadly, knowing that was going to happen. He blinked at her, that was not the reaction he was expecting when he mentioned the aircraft, but then he remembered she hadn't met him yet, which meant she hadn't been to the Valiant yet. He watched her pick up the mug and blow on it gently, suddenly feeling very sad as he remembered what was coming for her. He shook his head, clearing it of any stray thoughts. He had to be focused on the here and now, and the Valiant had already happened.

"Airforce retreating over North Africa! Daleks landing in Japan." Ianto updated them.

"We've lost contact with the Prime Minister's plane." Gwen exclaimed then turned to Jack, "Jack! Manhattan!" Jack He picked up his phone off his desk where Danni had placed it before methodically making the cup of tea.

"Martha, get out of there." He urged her.

"I can't, Jack, I've got a job to do." Martha replied.

"They're targeting military bases, and you're next on the list." He explained.

"Doctor Jones - you will come with me. Project Indigo is being activated." A deep, male, American voice commanded Martha on the other side of the phone call. Jack stiffened, knowing the implications of the order, "Quick march."

"But we can't use Project Indigo. It hasn't been tested, sir, we don't even know if it works!" Martha tried to reason with her commanding officer as Jack nodded his agreement, not saying a word. Danni walked over and he placed the phone on speaker so that they all could hear her.

"Put it on. Fast as you can." The male voice commanded.

"Martha, I'm telling you - don't use Project Indigo, it's not safe!" Jack told her frantically. Martha didn't reply, obviously hesitating as she agreed wholeheartedly with Jack.

"Do it, Martha. Follow your orders, it'll be fine. I promise." Danni reassured her gently.

"You don't know..." Jack began, trailing off as Danni shot him a look.

"You take your orders from UNIT, Doctor Jones, not from Torchwood." Martha's commanding officer told her warningly.

"But why me?" Martha asked.

"You are our only hope of finding the Doctor. But failing that... if no help is coming... then by the power invested in me by the Unified Intelligence Taskforce, I authorise you to take Osterhagen Key."

"I can't take that, sir." Martha whispered fearfully.

"Yes you can, Martha." Danni urged her, "You have to."

"You know what to do. For the sake of the Human Race." The man told her.

"Daleks one five breaching north corridor. Exterminate! Exterminate, exterminate!" The voice of a Dalek echoed over the speaker and Jack looked torn between Martha being killed by a Dalek or being killed by Project Indigo.

"Doctor Jones;Good luck." Gun fire was heard over the phone, Danni wincing away from it as the soldiers attacked the oncoming Dalek.

"Bye, Jack, Danni." Martha sobbed in a small voice.

"Martha, don't do it!" Jack shouted but the phone went dead as Martha activated Project Indigo, teleporting away from the UNIT base, "DON'T!" He kicked the desk in frustration and Gwen flinched away, scared of the man's anger.

"She's fine, I swear." She promised Jack weakly, knowing it didn't matter what she said. It wasn't just anger at Martha's possible death, it was at the entire situation and until it was over she could say they'd be fine until she was blue in the face and no one would believe her._ She_ didn't believe herself, but it didn't mean she would ever stop trying to reassure them.

"What's Project Indigo?" Ianto asked. Jack rubbed his eyes as he exhaled, trying to keep it together for the sake of his team.

"Experimental teleport salvaged from the Sontarans. But they haven't got co-ordinates or stabilisation!" He explained angrily.

"So where is she?" Gwen asked,

"Scattered into atoms." He replied and she stared back at him in horror, "Martha's down." Ianto placed a hand over his mouth.

"My lord you're dramatic." Danni stated loudly and angrily, sitting down the her cup of tea on the couch she was on before, "She's fine. She lands in her house, or her mums house. I forget which... Either way, she's fine. We just have to be patient."

"And you know that?" Jack demanded and she nodded.

"Yes, actually, I do." She retorted, "_We're_ the one's being surrounded by Daleks, maybe you should be worrying about that instead of shouting at me."

_~0~0~0~_

_And we have a Jack XD I do love him so much. Not as much as the Doctor, but he's pretty damn close :)_

_Lovely reviews, as always. And you guys have made it over 300! I mean, the mind boggles why you're all still reading really but I just want to give you a huge THANK YOU! But, I don't really know what to do about it, how to thank you all, but I'm so grateful so if you can think of a way let me know._

_I'm going to do more Season 7 episodes, I do actually have plans for Asylum of the Daleks, the Power of Three and Angels Take Manhattan, but only up to that one. Clara will be saved for the sequel, if I have one in me after this monster of a story is over, so it'll only be up to the end of the Ponds. _

_Jalexis? I think you've planned this out, haven't you? XD I don't think Danni/Doctor has a ship name, I've never really thought about it. Most of the time I would say 11's my Doctor, but then I'll watch a 10 episode and it's a case of 'That's why I love Tennant!'. It's so hard for me to choose XD And thanks for the offer, I've never really thought of getting a beta but mainly because I rarely have them finished before I post them, there's never really enough time in between posts. I may post often, but I mainly just procrastinate through the entire week until I'm like 'Oh God, I need a chapter to post RIGHT NOW!'_


	38. The Reunion

Gwen sat on the sofa, listening the transmissions filtering through from different governments in different languages. Danni sat next to her, her legs tucked up under her as she leant on Gwen's shoulder, her mug of tea cupped in her hands. She knew any moment now Harriet Jones would contact them, but listening to the messages of terror and defeat was heartbreaking. People still died, people still were turned into the Daleks. A little boy was about to be blown up because his father took a stand, and he'll only be one of many.

"I never thought I'd be scared of the Daleks." Danni stated suddenly, "They're the most defeated monsters in the Doctor's history, and quite frankly they're appalling to look at." Gwen glanced down at the girl, who was staring into her mug, "But now I'm here, I can't think of anything more horrifying than them tin cans." Gwen didn't reply, just leant her head on top of Danni's as they stared out into the room.

"This is the Commander General of the United Nations calling the Dalek fleet. We surrender. Repeat: we surrender." The UN General's voice broke through the Dalek transmission, "Planet Earth surrenders." Ianto, who had decided to occupy himself with making everyone yet another drink, placed the tray down on a small metal table with shaking hands before falling into the chair next to it. Jack watched, feeling utterly hopeless, leaning against a wall with his knees drawn up to his chest, clutching his phone in his hand.

"Humans selected for testing will follow Dalek instructions." A Dalek commanded from above them.

"Can anyone hear me?" A female voice, full of crackling from static, began transmitting to them, "The subwave network is open, you should be able to hear my voice. Is there anyone there?" Danni grinned, letting go of Gwen and downing the dregs of her tea.

"Now we're getting somewhere." She crowed, "Come on." She grabbed Gwen's hand and pulled her over to a monitor where a snowy image had appeared, a woman's outline barely visible in the black and white blur.

"This message is of the utmost importance. We haven't much time. Can anyone hear me?" The voice continued.

"Someone's trying to get in touch." Gwen called over to Jack and Ianto, knowing from the joyful look on Danni's face it was important.

"The whole world's crying out. Just leave it." Jack replied despairingly.

"Captain Jack Harkness, shame on you!" The woman reprimanded and Danni laughed happily as Jack and Ianto jumped up and ran over, "Now, stand to attention, sir!"

"What?! Who is that?" Jack asked, perplexed. The image solidified and filled with colour as Harriet Jones stared back at them, ID card on display.

"Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister." She told them.

"Yeah, I know who you are." Jack replied, amused that she felt she had to introduce herself.

"Sarah Jane Smith, 13 Bannerman Road." Harriet Jones called, "Are you there?" She paused as she listened for Sarah Jane, nodding, "Good!Now, let's see if we can talk to each other." The screen in front of them divided into four, Harriet in the top left, Torchwood in the top right and Sarah Jane in the bottom left, "The fourth contact seems to be having some trouble getting through. I'll just boost the signal. " Harriet typed furiously to help boost their signal. Danni waved at the screen, knowing Rose was watching from Donna's house, even though she couldn't join the conversation.

"Hello Noble Household!" Danni cried, "I'll see you soon, sweetie!" She blew Rose a kiss as Martha appeared on the screen.

"Hello?" She asked uncertainly. Gwen, Ianto and Jack laughed in relief as Danni punched the air.

"Martha Jones!" Jack exclaimed excitedly. Danni turned and smirked at him smugly.

"Told you she'd be okay." She gloated, "Why does no one ever listen to me, eh?" Jack rolled his eyes before pulling her in for a hug, planting a kiss in her hair.

"Beautiful and smart, you're starting to become a threat aren't you Danni-Girl?" Danni nodded.

"Damn right, my American chum." She replied then looked at the screen, "Martha, where are you?" She asked Martha, wanting to know if she had been right about the location. She was so sure she was at her mums house, but she had been forgetting a few things lately. She wanted to make sure her memories weren't fading.

"I guess Project Indigo was more clever than we thought." Martha replied, "One second I was in Manhattan, next second... Maybe Indigo tapped into my mind, because I ended up in the one place that I wanted to be." Mrs Jones appeared in the background, smiling lovingly at her daughter.

"You came home. At the end of the world, you came back to me." Mrs Jones finished, eyes only for her middle child.

"But all of a sudden, it's like... the laptop turned itself on?" Martha asked, hoping for an explanation.

"It did." Harriet and Danni stated at the same time. Martha grinned at the pair, she had missed Danni and her ability to know exactly what was happening or going to happen.

"Harriet Jones is brilliant, absolutely brilliant and will explain everything to you. I, however, am going to go make myself another cup of tea. You all be magnificent."

"Danni!" Sarah Jane called, "Is the Doctor coming?" Danni nodded.

"Soon. You all just to have to hang in there. Be fabulous; that includes you Nobles out there." She winked then skipped off, her face dropping as she thought about Harriet's tragic fate. She made her way into Jack's office, flipping the switch on the now only half-full kettle then settled down on a chair. They needed the signal boosted for the Doctor to be able to follow it, and she just didn't think there was another way. She wasn't smart enough to think of another way, and while there may have been other ways to contact him they just couldn't risk him being too late. Unfortunately, in the grand scheme of things, Harriet's death was necessary. She rubbed her eyes as she sighed, running her hands firmly down her face as she tried to calm herself down. She just had to wait it out.

The kettle switched off and she slowly made herself a drink before sitting down directly across from the clock on Jack's wall, watching it tick around for five minutes, not concentrating on the chatter outside, only on the ticking of the clock. She was startled by the central column of the Hub exploding into life, large rings of blue energy pulsing up it and she knew Harriet was about to die.

"I think we've got a fix!" She heard Jack shout over the noise and she waited patiently until Jack then shouted, "Where the hell have you been?! Doctor, it's the Daleks!" She stood up, placed a large smile on her face and headed out into the main room where Gwen and Ianto had joined him around the screen.

"Ooh, he's a bit nice. I thought he'd be older." Gwen commented and Ianto shot her a look.

"He's not that young." He retorted, hoping Jack wasn't thinking the same thing. Danni smiled at his jealousy, although she had to agree with Gwen. The Doctor was very nice to look at.

"It's the Daleks! They're taking people to their spaceship!" Sarah Jane's voice interjected and suddenly she and Martha began to talk animatedly over each other. She approached just close enough to see Ten in the screen, smiling widely at the image of all his friends on the screen.

"...But it's not just Dalek Caan!" Martha finished.

"Sarah Jane!" The Doctor exclaimed happily, "Who's that boy?" He pointed at the square with Jack in, "That must be Torchwood. Aren't they brilliant? Look at you all, you clever people!"

"That's Martha!" Donna said before pointing at the square with Jack in, a mischievous smile on her face, "And who's he?"

"Captain Jack. Don't!" He shook his finger warningly at her, knowing without looking she was about to say something, "Just... don't."

"It's like... an outer-space Facebook!" Donna summarised.

"Everyone except Danni and Rose..." The Doctor added quietly and Danni hopped in front of Jack.

"I'm here!" She cried, holding her mug aloft, "Just getting a cup of tea." The Doctor's face lit up and she grinned back.

"Danni-Girl! What are you doing there?"

"Oh, just spending some quality time with my devilishly handsome American chum here." She motioned to Jack, who laughed at the Doctor's suddenly very angry-looking face, "We're all here." She winked at the screen, hoping Rose would understand that she meant her as well. The screen went static and Jack groaned.

"We've lost them." He growled as he began typing on the keyboard, "I'll try and give it a little boost."

"We're being intersected by another transmission." Danni told him.

"Your voice is different, and yet, its arrogance is unchanged." A deep voice, almost Dalek but without the robotic edge, drawled as the screen cleared into an image of a man drenched in shadow.

"Our lord and master." Danni sighed quietly, looking upwards hoping the Doctor was okay. Davros rolled out into view, his eyeless face drawing a gasp from Gwen.

"Welcome... to my new Empire, is only fitting that you should bear witness to the resurrection and the triumph of Davros, Lord and Creator of the Dalek Race." Jack looked at Danni.

"The _creator?_" He repeated and she nodded.

"Davros. The Dalek's are made from his flesh, that's why he has none left. He was supposed to have died in the Time War."

"Have you nothing to say?" Davros asked after a pause, obviously expecting a reply from the Doctor.

"But you were destroyed." The Doctor's voice filtered through the transmission, so barely audible that Jack turned the volume up on the machine as best he could, "In the very first year of the Time War, at the Gates of Elysiem.I saw your command ship flying into the jaws of the Nightmare Child. I tried to save you..."

"But it took one stronger than you." They all winced and Jack turned the volume back down, "Dalek Caan himself."

"I flew into the wild and fire. I danced and died a thousand times!" a sing-song voice called from behind Davros.

"Emergency temporal shift took him back into the Time War itself."

"But that's impossible, the entire War is time-locked." The Doctor snapped back angrily.

"And yet, he succeeded. Oh, it cost him his mind, but imagine - a single, simple Dalek succeeded where Emperors and Time Lords have failed. A testament, don't you think, to my remarkable creations?" Davros taunted.

"And you made a new race of Daleks." The Doctor's voice broke and Danni's hand shot to her mouth, her heart breaking for his. If she was on the TARDIS, she could have at least held his hand, but she was useless down on Earth.

"I gave myself to them. Quite literally. Each one grown from a cell of my own body." Davros pulled the top of his leather suit open to reveal the rotten flesh underneath, hanging off his ribs so that his heart was visible, "New Daleks. True Daleks. I have my children, Doctor. What do you have, now?"

"After all this time... everything we saw, everything we lost... I have only one thing to say to !" The signal cut, leaving just static again and Danni span to face Jack.

"We have to find him!" She cried and he nodded, rushing into his office. Danni downed the rest of her tea, now only just warm enough to be drinkable, and shoved the mug at Ianto.

"The Dalek's are coming here. The subwave network diverts here." She warned him as Jack ran back in, phone against one ear as he undid his cuff on the same hand. Ianto, who had gone to check what Danni had told him on a terminal turned to Gwen.

"Gwen!" She came over to see what he had seen, "Dalek saucer heading for the Bay. They've found us." Gwen watched the blinking red dot on the map move closer to Cardiff Bay as Ianto dashed off.

"Martha, open that Indigo device! Now, listen to me: lift the central panel. There's a string of numbers that keep changing." Jack explained down the phone, picking up a large gun with his free hand. He motioned with it over to Danni, offering her it but she shook her head. He shrugged, "But the fourth number keeps oscillating between two different digits. Tell me what they are." He ran back over and handed the gun to Gwen as Ianto returned with his trench coat.

"That's a teleport base-code, and that's all I need to get this thing working again." He let Ianto help him into his coat them flipped open his vortex manipulator, "Oscillating four... and nine. Thank you, Martha Jones." He flipped his phone shut and Gwen handed him his gun, "I've gotta go. I've got to find the Doctor." He told his two friends, who just stared silently, "I'll come back." No answer, "I'm coming back!"

"Don't worry about us. Just go." Gwen told him, a fake smile on her face.

"We'll be fine." Ianto added and Jack smirked at him.

"You'd better be." He held out his arm to Danni, "Danni-Girl?" She linked arms with him and they teleported away, landing in an alleyway. Danni span around in a circle, used to being disorientated by a vortex manipulator and pointed to a church she could see up the road.

"That way!" She cried, taking off in a run, Jack quickly falling into step beside her. They came to an opening in between two houses and Rose appeared on the road. Danni skidded to a halt, holding her arm out to stop Jack. Rose stared at the two, smiling widely and Danni waved at her before motioning up to the Doctor, who was stood on the over end of the road, staring down at them with Donna. Rose started running, huge gun in hand as the Doctor set off to meet her in the middle. A Dalek appeared out of the shadows and Danni pushed the end of Jack's gun down as he aimed to shoot it.

"Exterminate!" It cried, hitting the Doctor in one side. Jack yelled in shock and shot the head off the Dalek. They all rush to the Doctor's side as Rose knelt down beside him, cradling his head in her hands.

"I've got you. It missed you. Look!" She smiled shakily at him, "It's me, Doctor." The Doctor panted through the pain, just about able to keep his eyes open as he smiled up at her.

"Rose." He breathed, almost in awe at the sight of her.

"Hi." She replied.

"Where's Danni?" He asked and Danni knelt beside them, taking his other hand.

"Here." She told him with a soft smile, "Look, she came back." The two girls grin at each other despite the situation, so happy to see each other again.

"You said I would see her again." He told her.

"Well, see, you _should_ listen to me more shouldn't you?" She mock-scolded him. He let out a breathy chuckle then convulsed.

"Don't die. Oh, my God, don't die." Rose whimpered, "Oh, my God, don't die." Danni turned to her.

"We need to get him to the TARDIS." She told her gently but firmly. Donna and Jack help them get him off the floor and onto his feet. Jack then let go and grabbed Rose's gun, keeping a look out for more Dalek's as they helped him into the TARDIS. They placed him down on the floor by the console as he moaned in pain, Rose still cradling him as Danni clutched his hands. All the girls were in floods of tears.

"What- what do we do? There must be some medicine or something!" Donna cried, distraught. Jack threw the guns onto the pilot chair and turned to the three.

"Just step back. Rose, Danni! Do as I say, and get back!" He commanded, but neither move from their spots next to him, "He's dying, and you know what happens next." Donna stared at him, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"But you can't... not now, I came all this way." Rose sobbed.

"What do you mean? What happens next?" The Doctor held out his hand in front of his face, watching it as it began glowing with regeneration energy. Danni looked at Rose.

"Rose." She stated and the girl's head snapped up to look at her, "We have to move."

"It's starting." The Doctor moaned and Rose looked back down, shaking.

"Rose." Danni called again, "Trust me. We have to move." Rose nodded and, after kissing the Doctor on the forehead, scrambled up and moved over to Jack, who pulled her in for a hug. Danni tried to move but the Doctor kept a grip on her hand. She looked down at him, confused.

"I don't want to go." He told her and she blinked in surprise, she hadn't expected _those_ words from him yet.

"I know." She replied, swallowing deeply, "but you'll be back in a moment." She kissed his knuckles and he did the same to her before letting her go. She rushed over to the others, hugging Donna around the waist as he slowly pulled himself to his feet.

"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Donna asked, terrified and perplexed.

"When he's dying, his- his body, it- it repairs itself, it changes." Rose stuttered out before looking over at the Doctor, "But you can't." She pleased.

"I'm sorry." The Doctor apologised, "It's too late. I'm regenerating!" He threw his arms out wide and tilted his neck as regeneration energy erupted from every pour, blinding the other occupants to squint at the brightness. Danni clung to Donna, eyes squeezed shut as she waited.

_~0~0~0~_

_Sorry about yet another shortish chapter, but it's just the way the episode split up considering Danni isn't around for most of it, only the Torchwood bits._

_Were any of you thinking Danni was going to stop the Dalek? I'm sure she wanted to, but she knows there's greater things at play than stopping the Doctor almost-regenerating._

_Only 3 more chapters left *le gasp* until we move onto Insanity Calling. It's actually worked out quite well, because next weeks 3 chapters will be Journey's End, then the following Tuesday will be the start of the next story. Isn't it nice when things come together like that? XD_

_Welcome to all you new readers! I'm glad to see you all enjoying my little Danielle. And I'm now listed in 4 communities! How brilliant is that? XD_

_I can't believe you didn't see this episode! This two-parter is one of my favourites! Well, two parter and a prequel I suppose, I don't know how Turn Left is refered to in the sequence. Anyway, I hope you enjoy Danni's version and you should watch the original if you get the chance, it's brilliant!_

_Hehe I am a bit of a tease, aren't I? It's fun that way XD_

_Hmm... Number of chapters is very hard. This one's got 3 left, which gives us 41 overall, but then there's going to be another 2 parts as well. I don't know how long they're going to end up, but I'll go with 120 just as an estimate. It may be longer, it may be shorter but based on this one it seems to be heading that way. I do have an idea for a sequel after them, because this is sort of a trilogy, but I don't know if it'll ever happen. It's just an idea I have in my head XD_

_I know, these episodes are full of the feels, aren't they? XD I'm glad you look forward to updates, when I go onto the next story it'll still be every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday so you'll only be wondering when in them days it's updated._


	39. The Journey's End

The Doctor stood there, arms splayed out by his sides as the golden regeneration exploded out of him. The three women and one man shielded themselves from the brightness, barely seeing him use both arms to direct the energy into a hand under the console in a jar. It reacted violently, bubbling and glowing as it absorbed the energy until he stopped regenerating. He stumbled backwards into one of the coral beams, blinking almost in surprise at his own actions. Donna, Rose and Jack gaped at him at a loss while Danni just smiled happily.

"Now, then. Where were we?" He asked before darting over to the console, crouching down on his hands and knees by the hand, which was still bubbling and glowing.

"There, now." He told it gently. He blew on the jar and it calmed down. The Doctor smiled then sat up to look at the four, "You see? Used the regeneration energy to heal myself, but as soon as that was done, I didn't need to change. I didn't want to, why would I?" He tweaked his tie and winked at Danni, who giggled, "Look at me! So, to stop the energy going all the way, I siphoned off the rest into a handy bio-matching receptacle - namely, my hand. My hand, there. My handy spare hand." He pushed himself up using the console and Danni dashed over, chucking her arms around him and hugging him tightly. He laughed and spun her around before placing her back down in front of the other three, still confused occupants. Danni smacked him on the chest.

"Don't you do that to me again, Spaceman!" She scolded and he rubbed his chest, a pout on his face.

"Ow! That really hurt." He moaned and she rolled her eyes.

"It did not, you big baby." She rubbed the spot where she'd hit him anyway, his chest felt very different to Eleven's. She blushed and quickly dropped her hand down by her side. The Doctor turned to Rose.

"Remember? Christmas Day? Sycorax? Lost my hand in a sword fight? That's my hand!" He motioned to the hand in the jar. Rose looked from the hand to him, still uncertain about what had happened. He should have changed, and then, what? He just stopped?

"What do you think?" The Doctor asked her, steeling himself for her answer. She slowly stepped towards him.

"And... you're still you?" She asked and he nodded.

"I'm still me." He confirmed and they threw their arms around each other. Rose buried her head in his shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut in joy as the Doctor squeezed her back. His best friend was back, and if he could help it she'd never leave again. Jack and Donna smile at each other happily.

"You can hug me, if you want." Donna told him and Jack laughed with her, _"_No, really, you can hug me." Jack stopped laughed but Danni let out another giggle at the look on Donna's face. She really wanted that hug.

"Oh go on, hug her." Danni nudged the impossible man, "You're good looking, she's good looking. If you don't, you'll have to hug me." Jack smirked at her.

"Oh, I don't think I'll mind that too much, Danni-Girl." She rolled her eyes and hugged him, pulling Donna in as well. The Doctor looked open and frowned at the three.

"Danni-Girl!" He called over, purposefully using her nickname. She looked over and he held his arm out for her. She looked a bit reluctant, after all this was his and Rose's moment, but then Rose mirrored the move.

"Come on!" She called over and Danni beamed, rushing over and joining them in the middle, squished between the pair, head leaning on the Doctor's chest.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor, Donna and Danni stood on one side of the console, Jack and Rose on the other as the Doctor steadied himself from the almost-regeneration. He pulled the monitor to himself, about the search the sky when the power suddenly cut. Danni grabbed his arm, her chest tightening at the darkness that had filled the room. She really didn't like the dark anymore, although she didn't know why. The Doctor placed a hand over hers, apparently _he _did. He reached over and began trying various buttons on the console, keeping one hand on hers as nothing seemed to work.

"They've got us. Power's gone... some kind of chronon loop!" He explained. There was a huge crash and the TARDIS tilted to one side, sending them all to the floor. The TARDIS rightened itself and they all scrambled together by the pilot chair.

"There's a massive Dalek ship at the centre of the planets." Jack explained, "They're calling it the Crucible. Guess that's our destination." He looked at Danni, who nodded in confirmation.

"You said these planets were like an engine." Donna said to the Doctor, "But what for?" The Doctor was staring into space, his hand still clasping Danni's tightly, a move Rose had noticed. He jolted suddenly, motioning to the blonde with his other hand.

"Rose!" He exclaimed, "You've been in a parallel world, that world's running ahead of this universe - you've seen the future, what was it?"

"It's the darkness." She mumbled slightly, not liking the fact he wasn't letting Danni go. She had been so glad that they had been working through their differences, and when she thought she couldn't get back she had taken comfort in the fact that Danni was there for him, but now she_ was_ back, so why was he still holding her hand? It was like he didn't realise he was doing it.

"The stars were going out." Donna recalled from her experience in her parallel world. Rose nodded.

"One by one. We looked up at the sky and they were just dying. Basically, we've been building this um... this travel machine, this... uh... Dimension Cannon, so I could... well, so I could..." she trailed off unsurely. The Doctor raised his eyebrows at her.

"What?" He prompted and she rolled her eyes.

"So I could come back!" She replied like it was obvious. The Doctor giggled and she couldn't help but smile at the noise, "Shut up! Anyway, suddenly, it started to work. And the dimensions started to collapse." The smiles fell off both of their faces as they fell back into the situation, "Not just in our world - not just in yours - but the whole of reality, even the Void was dead. Something is... destroying everything."

"In that parallel world..." Rose turned to Donna, who was addressing her almost timidly, "...you said something about me."

"The Dimension Cannon could measure timelines, and it's... it's weird, Donna, but they all seem to converge on you." Rose explained.

"But why me? I mean... what have I ever done? I'm a temp from Chiswick!" She exclaimed, bemused as the Doctor stared at her, thinking back over everything he knew about her, trying to make the connection.

"Because you're the most important woman in the universe." Danni told her sincerely.

"You always say that." Donna replied, "But you never say why..." The monitor bleeped and the Doctor rushed over, looking out the readouts.

"The Dalek Crucible. All aboard..." He muttered, watching the red dot flash in time with the beeping. The TARDIS landed inside the Crucible with a gentle thud.

"The TARDIS is secured!" The voice of a Dalek came from the door, sounding as if it was in the TARDIS with them. The Doctor stepped forward towards the walkway, staring at the door in terror.

"Doctor! You will step forth or die!" Another, deeper Dalek voice proclaimed.

"We'll have to go out. 'Cos if we don't, they'll get in." He told them.

"You told me nothing could get through those doors." Rose replied, alarmed not only at the idea of the Dalek's getting in, but at the fact he might have lied to her.

"You've got extrapolator shielding." Jack added. The Doctor turned to face them.

"Last time we fought the Daleks, they were scavengers and hybrids and mad. But this is a fully fledged Dalek Empire... at the height of its power. Experts at fighting TARDISes, they can do anything." The Doctor explained, "Right now, that wooden door... is just wood." Donna stood to one side, staring ahead with a terrified look on her face. Danni looked at her and sighed, she could hear the heartbeat from the hand.

"What about your Dimension Jump?" Her attention was drawn back to Jack talking to Rose.

"It needs another twenty minutes, and anyway, I'm not leaving." Rose replied.

"What about your teleport?" The Doctor asked Jack, who shook his head.

"Went down with the power-loss." The Doctor turned to Danni.

"Any chance your manipulator's about to set off?" He asked. She looked at her arm and shook her head.

"Nope." Danni replied.

"Right then. All of us together... yeah." He frowned as he realised Donna hadn't said anything in a while and turned to her, "Donna?" She didn't reply, she continued to stare forward with her eyes full of tears. Concerned, the Doctor stepped forward and took her by the shoulders. She jolted out of her trance and looked up at him, "Donna."

"Yeah." She replied, realising she hadn't really been in the conversation.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing else we can do." Donna nodded, smiling reassuringly at him.

"No, I know." He nodded with her, still concerned about her behaviour but mouthed 'okay' and turned to the door.

"Surrender, Doctor, and face your Dalek masters." The deep voiced Dalek commanded.

"Crucible on maximum alert!" Another Dalek declared.

"Daleks." Rose laughed nervously, "Heh!"

"Oh, God!" Jack laughed in reply too, both staring at the Doctor almost expectantly. The Doctor turned from staring at the door to look at them, swallowing deeply.

"It's been good, though, hasn't it?" Donna and Danni both smiled and nodded, "All of us... all of it... everything we did..." He turned to Donna, "You were brilliant." Donna smile grew and she nodded, knowing she actually had been brilliant, "And you were brilliant." He told Jack, who grinned in reply, "And you were brilliant." He told Rose, who smiled sadly in reply. He turned to Danni, who bit her lip at his thoughtful gaze, "I'd give anything to have you zoom away right now." he told her, "just so I knew you were safe and away from here." He laughed, "I never thought I'd want you to disappear on me." She stepped forward and grabbed his hand.

"I'm not going anywhere." She replied. He took a deep breath, steeling himself.

"Blimey." He stated then, hand-in-hand with Danni, walked towards the door. Rose and Jack followed, Donna following them after a moment. They stepped out into the Crucible, the Doctor holding Danni slightly behind him.

"Daleks reign supreme! All hail the Daleks!" The room full of Dalek repeated. The Doctor, Danni, Rose and Jack looked upwards in amazement and horror at all the Dalek's flying through the air, continuously chanting.

"Okay..." The Doctor breathed as he took in the sight of them. He squeezed Danni's hand, to check if she was still there. She squeezed back as she turned to look at Donna, who had frozen in the doorway of the TARDIS. Danni frowned, biting her lip again. She could just run in there now and pull Donna out before the doors shut. She could save Donna from her fate, but then they wouldn't get the metacrisis, so who would stop the Daleks? Maybe _she_ could be the metacrisis instead? But, if Donna's still there would he meet Amelia when he regenerated? Maybe if Donna was there, Amy wouldn't gain such a crush on him and would be more accepting of her feelings for Rory? Or, maybe they wouldn't go back for her at all.

"Donna? It's no safer in there..." The Doctor called over. The doors suddenly slammed shut on the TARDIS, much to everyone's alarm. Donna began banging on the door.

"Doctor?!" She cried, "What've you done?" The Doctor pulled Danni over and tried to unlock the door.

"It wasn't me, I didn't do anything!" He replied.

"Oi! Oi, I'm not staying behind!" Donna shouted, banging on the door again. The Doctor turned to the Supreme Dalek in the middle of the room.

"What did you do?" He shouted up to it.

"This is not of Dalek origin." It replied. Donna continued to bang on the door and yell through to the Doctor, trying to get out.

"Stop it! She's my friend. Now, open the door and let her out." The Doctor demanded.

"This is Time Lord treachery!" The Doctor stormed closer to the supreme Dalek.

"Me?! The door just closed on its own!" He replied.

"Just let her out!" Danni shouted, shaking the door to try and get it open. She put her own key in the lock, trying to let Donna out who was still banging on the door. The Doctor turned to see Danni frantically trying to get Donna out, tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked at the Doctor, "Please, we need to get her out. They're going to kill her." It didn't matter about the metacrisis, or the Daleks. She didn't want to lose Donna and she didn't want the Doctor to lose his best friend.

"Wait, what?" Donna screamed from inside, "Get me out of here spaceman!" The Doctor turned to the Supreme Dalek.

"Just let her out. It's me you've got the problem with. I didn't close the doors!" He insisted.

"Nevertheless: the TARDIS is a weapon and it will be destroyed." A trapdoor suddenly opened and the TARDIS fell down deep into the depths of the Crucible.

"Donna!" Danni screamed. The Doctor grabbed her around the waist, afraid she was going to jump over after the box.

"What're you doing?! Bring it back!" He demanded angrily. He ran right to the base of the Supreme Dalek, looking up at the bright red machine, "What've you done?! Where's it going?"

"The Crucible has a heart of Z-Neutrino Energy. The TARDIS will be deposited into the core." The Dalek replied calmly.

"But you can't, you've taken the defences down." He whispered in horror, "It'll be torn apart!" Rose looked at Jack, who had taken over holding Danni. She was sobbing uncontrollably; even though she knew Donna wasn't going to die, she still couldn't save her. She should have saved her while she had the chance. She was useless, bloody useless!

"But Donna's still in there!" Rose exclaimed, pointing to the trapdoor as she advanced on the Supreme Dalek.

"Let her go!" Jack demanded.

"Please, please let her go." Danni sobbed. The Doctor looked over, his face contorted in fury as he stormed over and ripped her out of Jack's arms. He pulled her up against his chest, wrapping his arms around her as she clung to him.

"The female and the TARDIS will perish together! Observe." The Doctor gaze followed that of the Supreme Dalek, to a point in the air where a holographic screen appeared. The TARDIS was shown bobbing in the massive burning ball of energy.

"Donna!" Danni screamed again, staring at the screen in horror, knowing that she was about the touch that hand, that the metacrisis was about to happen and that Donna was so close to having her memory wiped.

"The last child of Gallifrey is powerless." The Dalek taunted. The Doctor watched his TARDIS, and his friend slowly perish in the ball of energy. He looked down at the red-head sobbing hysterically in his arms then at the screen before turning to the Supreme Dalek.

"Please. I'm begging you, I'll do anything!" he implored, "Put me in her place! You can do anything to me, I don't care, just get her out of there!" Danni's grip tightened on him and she shook her head.

"No, don't leave me." She whimpered quietly. He placed a kiss on her head as he continued to watch the screen, panting hard as he teeth clenched and he shook.

"You are connected to the TARDIS. Now, feel it die."

"Total TARDIS destruction in ten rels!" Another Dalek exclaimed. Rose looked at the pair wanting to comfort the Doctor, but knowing there was no way she could do anything to make him feel okay. She could see it in the way they were stood, the Doctor staring up at the at the screen motionless while clutching Danni to his body tightly. Donna was dying or dead, his TARDIS was next. Danni was all he had left, and she was crying.

"Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five!" The Dalek counted down, "Four! Three! Two! One!" The TARDIS slowly disappeared into nothingness as the metacrisis Doctor flew it out of danger. Danni didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry. There was no saving Donna now, but the Dalek's were going to be stopped and the Doctor would get the only thing left from his home back.

"The TARDIS has been destroyed. Now, tell me, Doctor... what do you feel? Anger? Sorrow? Despair?" The Doctor tensed underneath her touch and she looked around him, catching Jack's eye. She winked at him, hoping he'd get that the TARDIS and Donna were fine, and by the slight twitch of his lips, he did. She looked at Rose, who was staring at her in surprise, obviously she had got the message as well.

"Yeah." He whispered, heartbroken and she stood on her tiptoes, barely able to reach his ear.

"She's fine." She whispered. She fell back to the flats of her feet and he stared down at her, as if he didn't want to believe she was right. She nodded minutely, trying to reassure him and his grip fell to her hands, holding them in front of him.

"Then, if emotions are so important, surely we have enhanced you." The Supreme Dalek replied.

"Yeah? Feel this!" Jack exclaimed as he turned around, shooting the large Dalek. The bullets bounced off it's shell, having no effect whatsoever.

"Exterminate!" The Supreme Dalek cried, shooting Jack and hitting him in the side. He cried in pain as he died, falling to the floor. Rose dropped by his side, shaking him slightly.

"Jack! Oh, my God. Oh, no..." Danni took her hands from the Doctor and knelt by Rose, taking her hands off Jack firmly.

"Rose, let him go." She coaxed gently.

"They killed him." Rose protested weakly as she stood up with Danni.

"No, they didn't." Danni replied and Rose frowned at her, "But we need to go somewhere else right now."

"Escort them to the Vault." The Supreme Dalek commanded as if it had heard it, "They are the playthings of Davros, now." Danni lead Rose to the Doctor. He grabbed Danni's hand tightly, Rose holding onto her other one. She looked between them both, Rose looking distressed and confused, the Doctor looking devastated, and she realised that _she_ had to be the strong one. There was nothing she could do now to stop the chain of events, she had to be the one who was there for everyone else. Maybe that was her purpose, not to change it but just to be there for it. She looked back at Jack, who winked at her, very much alive. She smiled sadly back.

_~0~0~0~_

They were led to a large room, what Danni assumed was the Vault. Davros was sat to one side, Dalek Caan behind him in a destroyed Dalek shell, the mutated being inside on full display. They were lined up side by side, Danni in between Rose and the Doctor.

"Activate the holding cells." Davros commanded. The Doctor reached out for Danni, pulling her harshly against him as three spotlights descended from the side, one over Rose and another remaining empty as the Doctor and Danni stood in the other.

"Well, this is cosy." Danni replied.

"Remove the human female from his cell." Davros commanded angrily.

"If you touch her I'll destroy every single Dalek fleet." The Doctor swore darkly. He needed to protect her, a fierce yet familiar wave of anger rolling over him. Ever since she'd almost been eaten by the Vashta Nerada, he needed to keep her close, make sure she was safe. He knew why, deep down, but he pushed the answer away, hiding it from himself. After all, Rose was there.

"You are powerless, what could you do to us?" Davros asked, a laugh of triumph in his voice.

"Take her and find out." The Doctor replied. Davros stared him down for a moment.

"Leave her. Even when powerless, a Time Lord is best contained." Davros commanded. The Dalek's who'd rolled forward to do as he commanded moved backwards and the Doctor smirked happily.

"Still scared of me, then?" He taunted before reaching forward and placing his hand against the edge of the holding cell. It rippled from top to bottom with a blue light. Danni watched it, amazed, after all it was very pretty. Rose did the same, watching it move downwards. Danni glanced over at her, she seemed to be taking this very well. Rose caught her gaze as smiled shakily at her, Danni sent her a beam back and drew a cross over her heart, promising everything was going to be okay.

"It is time we talked, Doctor, after so very long-" Davros started but the Doctor sighed, rolling his eyes dramatically.

"No, no, no, no, no. We're not doing the nostalgia tour. I want to know what's happening right here, right now, 'cos the Supreme Dalek said 'vault', yeah? As in, dungeon. Cellar. Prison." He spun around in a circle behind Danni, taking in the look of the room. The doors were closed and made of Dalekanium, there were no controls or any sort of consoles. The Dalek's in the room were watching him very closely, making sure he didn't make any wrong moves.

"He's not in charge of the Daleks anymore." Danni explained, "They just keep him down here. They've outgrown him." The Doctor's grin grew as he turned back to Davros.

"They've got you locked away down here in the basement, like, what, a servant? Slave? Court jester?"

"We have..." He paused as he thought of the right word, "an arrangement."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no." The Doctor laughed mockingly, "I've got the word. You're the Dalek's pet!" Davros turned from him angrily and moved over to Rose.

"So very full of fire, is he not? And to think, you crossed entire universes, striding parallel to parallel to find him again." He taunted her.

"Leave her alone." Danni and the Doctor snapped at the same time.

"She is mine. To do as I please." Davros replied, never taking his eyes off Rose.

"Then why am I still alive?" Rose replied boldly.

"You must be here. It was foretold. Even the Supreme Dalek would not dare to contradict the prophesies of Dalek Caan." He pressed a button on his chair and a spotlight illuminated Dalek Caan.

"So cold and dark. Fire is coming... the endless flames..." Caan sang.

"What is that thing?" Rose asked the Doctor, looking at the mutant as it twitched and danced on it's perch.

"You've met before. The last of the Cult of Skaro. But it flew into the Time War, unprotected." The Doctor explained slowly, not taking his eyes off the Dalek, anger bubbling away inside of him at the thought of anything being able to enter the Time War.

"Caan did more than that. He saw Time. Its infinite complexity and majesty raging through his mind. And... he saw you. Both of you." Davros stared at Danni and the Doctor. Danni stepped backwards, uncomfortable under the gaze of the robot eye in the madman's forehead.

"This I have foreseen in the wild and the wind. The Doctor will be here, as witness, at the end of everything. The Time Child, the Doctor and his precious Children of Time!" Caan sang before giggling like a child, "And one of them will die...!"

"Was it you, Caan? Did you kill Donna? Why did the TARDIS door close? Tell me!" The Doctor shouted, no longer being able to contain his anger. They could taunt him all they wanted, but mentioning her...

"Oh, that's it! The end, the fire, the rage of a Time Lord who butchered millions. There he is. Why so shy? Show your companion... show her your true self." The Doctor glanced over at Rose, silent and uneasy.

"But he saved millions too." Danni replied gently, "He saved the entire universe."

"You think so, child?" Davros snapped back.

"I know so." Danni replied instantly, "I know about the Time War, I know why he did what he had to do, I just wish you'd stayed there instead of throwing it back in his face."

"You're blinded by your admiration of him."

"Maybe I am." She conceded, "But at least I've never been someone's _pet._" Davros glared at her and she smirked in reply, knowing she had touched a nerve.

"He will show you his true self, Dalek Caan has promised me that." Davros told her.

"I have seen it. At the time of ending, the Doctor's soul will be revealed." Caan repeated.

"What does that mean?" The Doctor asked quietly.

"We will discover it together... our final journey. Because the ending approaches. The testing begins." Davros turned away from the Doctor, ready to leave his foe trapped in his cell.

"Testing of what?" The Doctor demanded. Davros turned back to answer him.

"The Reality Bomb." He stated gleefully before wheeling off. The Doctor tensed, his eyes wide in shock and wrapped his arms around Danni, pulling her close. She placed both of her hands on his, squeezing them reassuringly.

_~0~0~0~_

"Testing calibration of Reality Bomb. Firing in ten rels - nine, eight, seven..." The Supreme Dalek's voice came over the speaker system in the vault. Both Rose and Danni had been trying to reassure the Doctor, but he had just stood glaring at Davros

"Behold... the apotheosis of my genius." Davros typed on his control panel, bringing up the holographic screen showing a huge room covered in Dalek's. A group of humans were led into the middle, all with their hands on their heads.

"...two, one, zero." The Surpreme Dalek finished it's countdown, "Activate planetary alignment field!"

"But that's Z-Neutrino Energy. Flattened by the alignment of the planets into a single stream." The Doctor described, his eyes going wide, "No." He spun to face Davros,"Davros. Davros, you can't! You CAN'T! NO!" He begged. Davros just smirked and turned to face the screen as a large device on the ceiling of the testing room began glowing a bright green. Danni turned into the Doctor's chest, in all her worry about Donna she had forgotten about the people who were about to die. The Doctor and Rose watched in horror as the people on the screen dissolved into atoms, dissipating into nothingness. A Dalek wheeled into the spot the poor, unsuspecting people had been standing.

"Test completed." It declared. Rose turned to the Doctor, who was still staring at the screen.

"Doctor, what happened?" She asked him shakily.

"Electrical energy, Miss Tyler." Davros replied for the Time Lord. Danni looked up at the Doctor, who had turned to stare at Davros in disbelief, breathing heavily, "Every atom in existence is bound by an electrical field. The Reality Bomb cancels it out - structure falls apart. That test was focused on the prisoners alone. Full transmission will dissolve every form of matter."

"The stars are going out..." Rose whispered in realisation, turning back to where the screen had been.

"The twenty-seven planets... they become one vast transmitter. Blasting that wavelength..." The Doctor cried out.

"Across the entire universe." Davros interrupted, "Never stopping. Never faltering. Never fading. People and planets and stars will become dust. And the dust will become atoms and the atoms will become... nothing. And the wavelength will continue, breaking through the Rift at the heart of the Medusa Cascade into every dimension, every parallel, every single corner of creation." He raised his hand up, pointing to the ceiling, "This is my ultimate victory, Doctor! The destruction of reality itself!" He cried victoriously, almost hysterical in his joy.

"But then what?" Danni asked him, "After everyone is destroyed, what will you do?"

"Planet by planet my Dalek's will take everything denied to me."

"But then what?" Danni pressed, "What use are the wonders of the universe if there's no one there to share it with? Or bargain for it with? You'll own everything, then what will you do with it?"

"She has a point." Rose added, "What happens after you take over the universe?"

"This message is for the Dalek Crucible. Repeat: can you hear me?" Before Davros could reply the holographic screen appeared, showing Martha Jones appeared sat in a grey room in full UNIT uniform.

"Martha!" Danni cried happily. She knew the girl was going to be okay, but it was nothing compared to actually seeing her well.

"Put me through!" The Doctor commanded, tearing his gaze from Martha for a moment to shout the order at Davros.

"It begins as Dalek Caan foretold." Davros said smugly.

"The Children of Time will gather... and one of them will die!" Dalek Caan sang smugly.

"Stop saying that!" The Doctor shouted, exasperated, "Put me through!"

"Doctor! I'm sorry. I had to." Martha apologised, the Doctor shooting her a confused look in response. Sorry for what?

"Oh! But the Doctor is powerless - my prisoner. State your intent." Davros rolled into prominent view, addressing Martha.

"I've got the Osterhagen Key." She declared, showing them a small circuit board in a plastic case, "Leave this planet and its people alone, or I'll use it."

"Osterhagen what? What's an Osterhagen Key?" The Doctor asked.

"There's a bunch of nuclear bombs underneath the Earth's crust." Danni told him, "They use the key, the Earth is torn apart from the inside." The Doctor looked down at her, horrified and appalled.

"Danni!" Martha cried and Danni smiled up at her.

"Hello Martha!" She exclaimed, waving at the woman who couldn't help but smile at her attitude. If Danni wasn't worried, she knew she was doing to right thing,

"What? Who invented that?!" The Doctor asked Martha, before looking down at Danni, "Well - someone called Osterhagen, I suppose -" He looked back up at Martha, "but Martha, are you insane?!"

"The Osterhagen Key is to be used if the suffering of the Human Race is so great, so without hope... that this becomes the final option." She explained with some effort, like even she felt the idea was abhorrent.

"That's _never_ an option." The Doctor snarled.

"Don't argue with me, Doctor." Martha snapped, stunning him slightly, "'Cos there's more than that. Now, I reckon the Daleks need these twenty-seven planets for something, but what if it becomes twenty-six? What happens then? Daleks? Would you risk it?" Martha taunted, waving the key. Rose turned to Danni.

"She's good!" She told the ginger, who nodded.

"Martha Jones saves the Earth once again." Danni replied with a laugh. Martha squinted at the screen, not quite able to see Rose.

"Who's that?" She asked. Rose turned back to the screen.

"My name's Rose. Rose Tyler." Martha's mouth dropped open.

"Oh, my God... he found you." She whispered, quite overcome. But, if Rose was there, what about Danni? She looked at the ginger, who placed a finger to her lips, telling her not to mention anything. Rose looked over at the Doctor, who was staring back at her in shock at the reaction to the key. Rose should have been as disgusted as he was about it, why wasn't she?

Martha's transmission suddenly shot to the left and another screen appeared showing Jack, Mickey, Sarah Jane and Jackie Tyler. Jack was holding a chain connected to a load of wires, a smirk on his face.

"Captain Jack Harkness calling all Dalek boys and girls! Are you receiving me? Don't send in your goons or I'll set this thing off." He called, his tone serious and countering the look on his face.

"He's still alive! Oh, my God, that's- that's my mum!" Rose stuttered out, her brows furrowing in confusion as she pointed the woman out. What was she doing there?

"Yes, he can't die. And yes, that's your mum." Danni replied. The Doctor nodded in agreement.

"And Mickey," He added, "Captain, what are you doing?" He addressed Jack.

"I've got a Warp Star wired into the mainframe." Jack explained, "I break the shell... the entire Crucible goes up." The Doctor stared at him, mouth open as if he'd gone completely mad.

"You can't!" He exclaimed, "Where did you get a Warp Star?!" Sarah Jane stepped closer to the screen.

"From me." She stated quickly, "We had no choice, we saw what happened to the prisoners."

"Impossible." Davros breathes, wheeling to get a closer look, "That face... after all these years."

"Davros." Sarah Jane whispered, before her gaze turned dark and she glared at him, "That's been quite a while. Sarah Jane Smith. Remember?" She snapped. Davros grinned, enjoying every moment of what was unfolding.

"Oh, this is meant to be." He crowed, "The Circle of Time is closing. You were there on Skaro at the very beginning of my creation."

"And I've learned how to fight since then." Sarah Jane warned, "You let the Doctor go or this Warp Star - it gets opened!"

"I'll do it." Jack promised, twisting the necklace threateningly, "Don't imagine I wouldn't." Rose laughed.

"Now, that's what I call a ransom." She turned to see Danni trying to catch the Doctor's gaze, whispering comforting words to him. He was looking to the ground, devastated at what his friends had become. And all in the name of him, he had done this to them, "Doctor?" She asked, concerned. Danni looked over at Rose, her heart breaking for the turmoil the man was going through. Always thinking the worst in every situation if it involved himself.

"And the prophesy unfolds." Davros smirked.

"The Doctor's soul is revealed!" Dalek Caan cackled happily, "See him! See the heart of him!" Danni bent down trying to get him to look at her, but he refused to meet her eyes, burdened with the guilt of what he had done to the people in front of him.

"The man who abhors violence, never carrying a gun. But this is the truth, Doctor: you take ordinary people and you fashion THEM into weapons. Behold your Children of Time transformed into murderers. I made the Daleks, Doctor. You made this." He taunted.

"They're trying to help." The Doctor replied weakily, barely believing his own words.

"Already, I have seen them sacrifice today for their beloved Doctor. The Earth woman who fell opening the subwave network." Davros revealed.

"Who was that?" The Doctor asked, all his companions were there, who else was there?

"Harriet Jones." Rose told him quickly. He turned to her, stunned, he hadn't been expecting that, "She gave her life to get you here."

"How many more? Just think. How many have died in your name?" Davros pressed, knowing he was getting underneath the man's skin. Danni watched as the images of the people who had died to help in flashed in the Doctor's mind as he relived each one, fighting back the urge to start sobbing. All of the people who sacrificed themselves for him because he wanted to play hero, "The Doctor... the man who keeps running, never looking back, because he dare not, out of shame. This is my final victory, Doctor. I have shown you... yourself." Danni growled and spun around, having become furious as she watched the Doctor crumble under his own guilt.

"You know, I've had just about enough of you!" She shouted angrily, pointing at Davros who moved back slightly in surprise, "You know nothing, so maybe you should shut your mouth." She turned to the Doctor, taking his head in her hands and forcing him to look at her, "You don't understand, you never did." She started gently, "They're not trying to hurt people, they're trying to _save_ them. They don't _want_ to blow up the planet, or the Crucible, they're following your lead because they want to help. They're following your lead because they're giving him the _choice_. He," She pointed behind her at the Dalek's creator, "He's the one twisting it. And his downfall will come at the hands of the most important person in the universe, so don't listen to him." She implored. The Doctor studied her face, thinking over what she said.

"I will not fail!" Davros shouted indignantly. She spun around to face him, glaring furiously at him.

"Oh yes you will." She promised him, "Apparently I'm the bloody Time Child, so you'll do well to listen to me. She will stop you."

"The most important person in the universe?" The Doctor asked thoughtfully and Danni turned to face him, smiling happily as he seemed to come back out of his despair.

"And her sexy..." She interrupted herself, shaking her head, knowing the TARDIS wouldn't be happy being left out, "No sorry, two incredibly sexy friends. You haven't fashioned them into weapons, they're so much better than that, and it's because of you."

"What about you?" He asked her. She opened her mouth to answer, to tell him her life would be meaningless without him when the Supreme Dalek interrupted their moment.

"Enough. Engage defence zero-five." Hearing the Dalek's order Martha held up the Osterhagen key.

"It's the Crucible... or the Earth." She stated one last time, hoping her threat would be listened to and she wouldn't have to activate the key.

"Transmat engaged!" A Dalek exclaimed and Martha was snatched from the station, dropping the key onto the floor. Jack, Sarah Jane, Mickey and Jackie were then snatched in identical lights, the Warp Star also falling to the floor. The five appeared on the floor in front of the vault, disoriented. Martha rolled across the floor, having been brought from so far away her ride had been much more rough than the rest and Jack rushed over to help her up.

"Martha! I've got you, it's all right-" He reassured her.

"Don't move! All of you! Stay still!" The Doctor shouted as Jackie, Mickey and Sarah Jane rushed forward. His hand knocked against the side of the holding cell, causing it to ripple and they all stopped in their tracks.

"Guard them! On your knees, all of you. Surrender!" Davros shouted. They all looked to the Doctor, unsure of what to do.

"Do as he says." He urged them as Dalek's surrounded them, pointing their guns at the group. They all slowly fell to their knees, Mickey very unhappy with giving up, placing their hands behind their heads to show they surrendered.

"Mum, I told you not to!" Rose hissed at her mum.

"Yeah, but I couldn't leave you." Jackie replied in the same hushed tone. Rose rolled her eyes, but knew that her mum would never leave her to fight on her own.

"The final prophesy is in place. The Doctor and his children all gathered as witnesses. Supreme Dalek... the time has come!" Davros's voice trembled in excitement and Danni grabbed the Doctor's hand as they all looked at the monster in front of them, "Now Detonate the Reality Bomb!" He screamed, pointing upwards. The Doctor's grip tightened on the Danni's hand and she lifted up his hand to kiss his knuckles.

_~0~0~0~_

_Gah, just clicked the wrong button and my whole A/N got deleted :( Isn't that so annoying?!_

_Anywho, what a huge chapter eh? Hope you don't mind XD And hope you enjoyed Danni ranting at Davros, I felt he had it coming._

_Reviews are always awesome, so I'll skip to the responses!_

_Hehe, no Moffat here, I can promise you this is all me. Hope this chapter makes up for the cliffhanger of the last one XD_

_I do wish there were 42 chapters, but if there was then the next part of the story wouldn't start until next Thursday and I'm so excited to post it. I may come up with something, but I'm not sure._

_Aww, thank you for listing me XD Glad you're enjoying the story enough to tell other people._

_More Torchwood/Doctor Who crossovers are definitely necessary. I always wanted Jack to meet Eleven, I can just imagine him making all these innuendos and Eleven blushing like crazy XD That would be amazing! And changed the sentence, cheers! Hopefully I'll remember to change it on the actual internet when I post this chapter._

_Hmm, is she ageing? I suppose so, she's been in the Who Universe for around 6 months, so she'll be hitting 23 soon. But it probably won't be noticeable, because it is only 6 months._


	40. The Doctor-Donna

"Activate planetary alignment field!" The Supreme Dalek commanded, once again activating the bomb that had wiped out the prisoners moments ago, "Universal reality detonation in two-hundred rels!" Davros held a shaking finger in the air, his silver teeth visible in his rotten face as he grinned triumphantly.

"You can't, Davros! Just listen to me! Just STOP!" The Doctor begged desperately. Davros didn't even look over at his enemy, instead bursting into manic laughter as he stared at the ceiling.

"Nothing can stop the detonation! Nothing! And no-one!" He cackled.

"Wanna bet?" Danni shouted in reply. The Doctor looked down to find her not facing the same way as everyone else, but in one corner of the room. Then a noise he thought he never would hear again filled the room as the TARDIS began to materialise. Everyone spun to stare at the slowly solidifying box. Jack stood up, a huge grin on his face and he looked at Danni, who nodded happily.

"But that's..." The Doctor trailed off, completely bewildered.

"Impossible." Davros stated, wheeling away from the blue box which lands in a glow of light. The doors opened and the Doctor, the Metacrisis Doctor, stepped forward bathed in a white light from inside the TARDIS. He held a device in one hand as he looked out onto the occupants of the Vault.

"Brilliant." Jack stated in awe as the original Doctor stared at the clone of himself in disbelief. He could tell instantly it wasn't him further on in his own time line, that this version was something completely new. Davros rolled back, afraid of what the duplicate might mean as the Metacrisis ran towards him, device in hand.

"Don't!" The Doctor shouted in panic, realising the plan his Metacrisis had come up with. Davros pointed at the charging man and a bolt of electricity flew from his clawed finger, hitting the new Doctor in the chest. He convulsed as he fell to the floor, the device flying out of his hand.

"Activate holding cell." Davros ordered and a new holding cell descended from the ceiling around the new Doctor, who tentatively tested the side. Donna came running from the TARDIS to the surprise of everyone except Danni and Jack.

"Doctor!" She cried, skidding over to the device and picking it up, "I've got it! But I don't know what to do!" She exclaimed, panicking. Davros shot at her with another bolt of electricity, hitting her in the middle of the chest. She went flying through the air, hitting a large device Danni had only just noticed. She always felt it was strange having something like that in what was effectively a prison cell, but when she watched it on television she just brushed it aside. Now she was there, though, it stuck out like a sore thumb and she was surprised no one had mentioned it, especially the Doctor.

"Donna!" The Doctor shouted in alarm, "Donna! Are you all right, Donna?!" The woman didn't reply, however, as she slumped against the device unconscious.

"Destroy the weapon!" Davros cried and a Dalek fired at it, causing it to explode, "I was wrong about your warriors, Doctor." He taunted, rolling to a stop in front of Danni and the Doctor, "They are pathetic."

"How comes there's two of you?!" Rose asked, confused, trying to take his attention away from Davros. He turned to face her.

"Human biological Metacrisis." Metacrisis Doctor supplied from his holding cell, not really explaining anything at all with that sentence. Much like the Doctor himself, then.

"Never mind that," The Doctor brushed off, "now we've got no way of stopping the Reality Bomb."

"Oh have a little faith, will ya?" Danni told him.

"How do you know that?" The Metacrisis snapped at her. She turned and glared at him.

"Because I do." She replied, surprised by his anger while the real Doctor had his arms wrapped around her tightly.

"You think you know everything." He mocked back.

"What is your problem?" She snapped, "According to you we're all about to die, why are you arguing with me?"

"Because you think you're so clever, when really you're just a stupid little girl!" Her mouth dropped open in shock along with everyone but the Doctor and Rose, who had both seen arguments like this before, Rose being witness to them and the Doctor participating.

"Stop it." The Doctor warned lowly. If Danni really thought they'd be okay, then he trusted her. Apparently his duplicate didn't agree, instead he just huffed to himself but fell silent. Danni, now annoyed at the pair of them, shrugged out of his grasp and cross her arms angrily. Stupid Time Lords...

"Silence!" Davros exclaimed, slightly pointlessly as they had all stopped talking, "Stand witness, Time Lord. Stand witness, Humans." He activated his holographic screen, bringing up the image of the 27 planets glowing with a blue light, "Your strategies have failed, your weapons are useless, and... oh - the end of the universe is come." He mocked. The Doctor stared up at the screen, panting and feeling utterly hopeless while Danni turned to see Donna slowly stand behind the control panel, her eyes wide as everything that made the Doctor 'The Doctor' rushed into her mind. Her eyes met with Danni's and she grinned joyfully, Danni nodding at her in encouragement.

"...Five... four... three... two... one.." The countdown ended with the screen turning off, the bomb powering down. An alarm rang through the room and everyone looked around in confusion, including the Dalek's.

"Told you." Danni stated triumphantly, smirking at the Metacrisis, who just glared at her back.

"What happened?" The Doctor asked her and she motioned with her head towards Donna.

"Oh... closing all Z-Neutrino relay loops using an internalised synchronous back-feed reversal loop!" The new Donna explained, her voice and body language now full of a confidence that hadn't been there before. She flicked a large metal switch upwards, "That button there!" Danni cheered, pointing at her with both hands.

"Donna!" She cried, Donna winked at her playfully.

"You should know by now to listen to your Danni-Girl. I'm betting she's been trying all along to tell you I was al lright. More than all right, Molto bene!"

"Donna, you can't even change a plug!" The Doctor exclaimed and she smirked at him.

"Do you wanna bet, Time Boy?" She teased.

"You will suffer for this." Davros screamed, pointing at her with his gauntlet. Donna cocked her head to one side, almost as if she was bored and flicked a switch, causing the electricity Davros was going to shoot at her relay back up his harm, electrocuting him with a shriek.

"Oh...! Bioelectric dampening field with a retrogressive arc inversion." She explained quickly. Davros shook with fury and pointed at her.

"Exterminate her!" He screamed, pointing at the woman. The Doctor stared at her fearfully but Donna barely reacted, instead pressing a few buttons and flicking a few switches as all the Dalek's in the room turned on her.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!" With one final switch the Dalek's seemingly powered down, each of them aiming at her but nothing happening, "Weapons non-functional!"

"What? Macrotransmission of a K-filter wavelength blocking Dalek weaponry in a self-replicating energy blindfold matrix?"

"How did you work that out? You..." The Doctor asked, amazed.

"Time Lord. Part Time Lord." The Metacrisis interrupted proudly, smiling at the woman who had brought him into existence. The best red head he'd ever come across.

"Part Human! Oh, yes!" Donna interrupted, copying the Doctor as she did, "That was a two-way biological Metacrisis. Half Doctor... half Donna!"

"The Doctor-Donna!" Danni cried, jumping up and down in excitement. Even though this was the end of her friend, the first companion she had met in this universe, the Doctor-Donna was just fantastic. Donna pointed at her, indicating she was correct before shooting her another flirty wink. Danni blew her a kiss in reply.

"The Doctor-Donna..." The Doctor breathed in realisation, "Just like the Ood said, remember? They saw it coming! The Doctor-Donna."

"Holding cells deactivated. And seal the Vault." Donna declared, flicking another switch. The holding cells deactivated and Danni rushed over to her, chucking her arms around Donna, who hugged her back just as tightly.

"Oh you are marvellous!" Danni crowed, Donna still holding her around the waist.

"And you are incredibly sexy in those pyjamas." Donna replied, "If only I was male and fully Time Lord." Danni batted her arm.

"Oh you couldn't handle me." She flirted back. The pair laughed and Donna looked over at the two Doctor's, the original staring at them amused, the Metacrisis looking slightly disgusted.

"Well, don't just stand there, you skinny boys in suits - get to work!" Both Doctor's rushed over to the control panel, one on either side of her.

"Stop them! Get them away from the controls!" Davros screamed, the other's only able to watch in awe as the Dalek's advanced on them. Donna looked at Danni and rolled her eyes, as if he thought he'd be able to stop her. She typed on a couple of buttons then flipped a switch before reaching around Danni to a dial on the side.

"And... spin." She sang, spinning it around. The Dalek's that had been advancing on them began spinning in circles, begging for help. Jack laughed at the sight, causing Danni to giggle as well. Donna nudged her and moved her hand out of the way, letting Danni have a go. Danni's mouth fell open in a huge grin and she reached down.

"And... the other way!" She cried and spun it anti-clockwise, sending all the Dalek's spinning in the other direction, "Oh that's fantastic!"

"What did you do?" The Metacrisis asked, amazed.

"Trip-stitch circuit-breaker in the psycho-kinetic threshold manipulator." Donna replied as if it was obvious. The Metacrisis beamed at her.

"But that's brilliant!" She nodded, of course it was. The original Doctor turned to his counterpart.

"Why did we never think of that?" The Metacrisis shrugged, he had no idea.

"Because you two... were just Time Lords!" Donna explained happily, "You dumbos. Lacking that little bit of Human, that gut instinct that goes hand-in-hand with planet Earth. I could think of ideas that you two couldn't dream of in a million years! Ah, the universe has been waiting for me! Now... let's send that trip-stitch all over the ship. Did I ever tell you," She pointed to herself, "Best temp in Chiswick?" She wiggled her fingers in a typing motion, "A hundred words per minute!"

"Ha!" The Metacrisis barked out a laugh, completely amused by her. They set to work, rerouteing and reversing things Danni didn't understand but were amazing to watch. The Doctor had put on his 'I'm clever' glasses, which she absolutely loved. He glanced up at her watching him and she blushed at being caught. He winked and looked back down, Donna nudging her with her hips a moment later, smiling down at her knowingly. Danni giggled happily to herself, this _was_ so amazing.

"System malfunction-"

"Motor causing interference-" The Dalek's all exclaimed in panic as they spun on the spot, unable to do anything about it. Jack ran into the TARDIS, weaving his way around the incapacitated Daleks.

"Come on then, boys," Donna told them the two Doctors, "we've got twenty-seven planets to send home. Activate magnetron."

"Stop it at once!" Davros began heading towards the console, his finger pointing at them even though he knew it wouldn't work. Jack emerged from the TARDIS carrying two guns.

"Mickey!" He called to the other man, who turned around to see Jack chucking a gun at him. He caught it expertly and cocked it.

"You will desist!" Davros screamed and Mickey pointed the gun at his head, halting him in his tracks.

"Just stay where you are, Mister." He threatened. A Dalek spun it's way towards Jack, who lifted his leg and kicked it away with a smile.

"Out of the way!" He cried, giving the same idea to the rest of the room. Sarah Jane and Rose moved towards the same Dalek, pushing it out of the room together.

"Good to see you again!" Sarah Jane told the younger woman, who grinned back at her.

"Yeah, you too!" Rose replied watching the Dalek hit the wall with a thud. Martha did the same to a Dalek by her with a bit more aggression, making herself feel a lot better in the process.

"Ready?" Donna called and they all turned to watch the trio, "And reverse!" Donna, the Doctor and the Metacrisis each grabbed two large handles each, pulling them out towards them. There was a loud buzzing noise as the device activated, ready to send the planets home. Danni hopped over to the Doctor's side, who smiled down at her. He tilted his hand on one of the rods, inviting her to take it over. She grinned and took hold of it as he pushed the other one back into the console.

"Off you go, Clom." He stated.

"Back home, Adipose Three!" The Metacrisis added, pushing one of his own rods in. Donna pushed both of hers in, then flicked a switch with her hand, followed by one with her foot.

"Shallacatop! Pyrovillia! The Lost Moon of Poosh. Sorted. Ha!" She barked out, sounding like the Doctor again. The Metacrisis Doctor grinned at her.

"Ha!" He echoed, forcefully pushing in the other rod into the console. The Doctor leant down by Danni's ear.

"Your turn." His breath tickled her ear and she gleefully pushed the rod into the console, "And I love your pyjamas as well." She blushed a deep red as the sound of the machine dulled and dropped in pitch.

"We need more power..." The Doctor explained as she opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong before running off with Donna to grab a piece of wire, ripping the end off and sonicing it to increase the power to the console. She thought that's what he was doing anyway, it seemed a very 'Doctor' thing to do. Jack walked over, gun still in hand, interested in seeing the Doctor work as Rose and Jackie walked over.

"Is anyone gonna tell us what's going on?" Rose asked, still completely confused as to why there was two Doctor's stood in the room, one with a large amount of wiring in his hand, the other still at the console. Donna pointed at the original Doctor.

"He poured all his regeneration energy into his spare hand, I touched the hand," She gestured to the new Doctor,who shot Rose a grin, "he grew out of that, but that fed back into me. But, it just stayed dormant in my head 'til the synapses got that little extra spark, kicking them into you, Davros!" She waved over at the madman still being held at gunpoint by Mickey, "Part Human... part Time Lord. And I got the best bit of the Doctor.I got his mind."

"So there's THREE of you?" Sarah Jane asked, amazed.

"Three Doctors?" Rose added.

"I can't tell you what I'm thinking right now." Jack said distractedly.

"I can." Danni replied. The Doctor smirked happily at her while the Metacrisis rolled his eyes, just finding her annoying. Rose, who had slowly become more and more upset over the Doctor's attitude towards Danni, noticed the difference in the new Doctor and felt a surge of happiness over it, immediately feeling guilty.

"You're so unique that the time lines were converging on you." The Doctor told Donna, "Human Being with a Time Lord brain." Davros spun slowly in a circle to face Dalek Caan, Mickey following very closely with the gun aimed squarely at his head.

"But you promised me, Dalek Caan." Davros hissed in fury, "Why did you not foresee this?" Dalek Caan giggled manically, his tentacles waving in the air.

"He did." Danni replied sharply, "And so did I. Dalek Caan saw through time and decided enough was enough. He moved Donna to have her in the right place at the right time. You should have listened to me." She smirked smugly.

"This would always have happened. I only helped, Time Child." Dalek Caan sang.

"You... betrayed the Daleks?" Davros spat.

"I _saw_ the Daleks." Caan corrected, "What we have done throughout time and space. I saw the truth of us, Creator, and I decreed 'no more'." The ceiling above them opened up and the large, red Supreme Dalek descended from the ceiling.

"Heads up!" Jack shouted, aiming his gun and readying it to fire.

"Davros, you have betrayed us." The Supreme Dalek stated. Davros wheeled forward towards his creation and his master.

"It was Dalek Caan!" He replied, begging the creature to believe him.

"The Vault will be purged!" The Supreme Dalek decreeded, "You will all be exterminated!" It shot at the central console where the two Doctors were now working, causing it to spark and explode, sending them both to the floor.

"Like I was saying, feel this!" Jack blasted the Supreme Dalek in half before it could do any more damage. The Doctors wafted the smoke away, examining the console closely.

"Oh, we've lost the magnatron!" The Doctor groaned in exasperation, "And there's only one planet left oh," He laughed, of course it was, "Guess which one. Look, we can use the TARDIS!" He rushed into the TARDIS as everyone blinked at him, used to his slightly manic behaviour but still amused by it. The Metacrisis continued to work on the console the best he could.

"Holding Earth stability... maintaining atmospheric shell." He stated as he flicked a couple of switches.

"The prophesy must complete." Dalek Caan told them all. Danni turned and ran into the TARDIS to see the Doctor messing with the console, setting everything up ready to pull the Earth to safety.

"You've got to stop him!" She shouted, pointing at the door. The Doctor didn't stop, glancing at her as he ran past.

"Danni, not right now." He snapped, trying to focus on what he was doing.

"You don't understand..."

"I need to set this up." He cut her off and she growled in frustration. You'd think by now, by the end of Donna, he would listen to her!

"He's going to destroy them all!" She argued back, "Every single Dalek, he's going to wipe them all out. An entire race!" He paused at her words, contemplating on what was about to happen. She stood as long as she could, waiting for a response until she couldn't wait anymore, "Do you really want _any_ version of you to do that again?" He stopped what he was doing, running out of the TARDIS to see exploded Dalek's everywhere, the Crucible shaking under the strain of what the Metacrisis had caused.

"What've you done?!" The Doctor shouted, horrified as Danni appeared next to him, tugging at her top uncomfortable under the Metacrisis's glare.

"Oh did you tell on me?" He taunted. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, look what you did!" She waved at the carcass of a Dalek to illustrate her point. He ignored her, turning to the original Doctor.

"Fulfilling the prophesy." He replied to his question. The Crucible began to crumble around them as it shook, unable to take the explosion of thousands of Dalek's inside it, let alone the mass of ships surrounding it. They all ducked out of the way of the fly debris, the Metacrisis looking around at the destruction almost proud of what he had done.

"Do you know what you've done?" The Doctor shouted at him furiously, "Now, get in the TARDIS!" The new Doctor ran in, looking like a scolded child as the Doctor motioned to the doors, "Everyone! All of you inside, run! In, in, in, in, in!" They all ran in the TARDIS, the new Doctor there to usher them in.

"Sarah Jane! Rose! Jackie! Jack! Mickey!" He called all their names until Danni appeared at the end. He studied her coolly then turned, running to the console ready to pilot the ship. Danni rolled her eyes at his behaviour, having worked out a while back why he was being an arse to her, and stood at the Doctor waiting for the original Doctor to come in. Her Doctor, who was stood just outside the door looking for Davros.

"Davros?" He called urgently, holding his hand out, "Come with me! I promise I can save you!" Instead of taking his hand, Davros pointing at him, full of fury.

"Never forget, Doctor - YOU did this! I name YOU, forever, YOU are the Destroyer of Worlds!" He screamed as he was engulfed by the flames rapidly filling the vault.

"One will still die." Caan declared.

_~0~0~0~_

_Sorry this chapter isn't as long as the last one, although that was a bit of a monster wasn't it? My hamster escaped Tuesday night, so I spent all Wednesday looking for him (didn't find him :( ) so I didn't do any writing at all, so all this was written today. So, I apologise for any mistakes, feel free to let me know what I've done wrong and I'll attempt to fix it over the weekend._

_Did you all enjoy mean Metacrisis Doctor? :) He was fun to write, I do like him being mean, is that a bit weird? XD_

_Yes, it was your review XD I always try and answer any questions I can, of course I don't give out spoilers, that would be silly XD But if you do have any questions, feel free to ask._

_You shouldn't be reading in class, *tut* :D But I was the same at school, I read the entire Series of Unfortunate Events series in Physics, so I can't really say anything. This episode always makes me cry, I don't know what I'm going to be like at the end :(_

_Yeah, she is still wearing pyjama's, it's just most of them are used to her turning up in various stages of dress, so they don't see it as odd._


	41. The Final Goodbye

The Doctor ran into the unusually crowded TARDIS, running past Danni who glanced back out of the TARDIS before slamming the door shut and following him. He ran around the group of people gathered by the console, throwing a switch when he reached it.

"And! Off we go!" He shouted, the TARDIS shuddering as it took off, everyone grabbing onto the console for support. Donna squeezed Danni in between her and the Doctor, making sure she had a grasp of the console. Danni shot her a grin in reply, she loved the Doctor-Donna. The new Doctor turned to Sarah Jane who was by his side and grinned at her and she replied with one of her own. Everyone was loving it; just like old times.

"But what about the Earth?" Sarah Jane asked, looking between the identical men, "It's stuck in the wrong part of space!"

"I'm on it." The Doctor promised her, turning to the monitor and turning it on, "Torchwood Hub, this is the Doctor. Are you receiving me?" He cried, a picture of Gwen and Ianto appearing on the screen. Danni motioned Rose over, who warily walked up to the pair peering into the screen. Saw the two people stood there, a man and a woman and frowned. That was Gwyneth from Cardiff, one of her first adventures with the Ninth Doctor. What was she doing at Torchwood?

"Loud and clear." Gwen confirmed, "Is Jack there?" The Doctor glanced at Jack, smirking at the man who looked relieved to know his team was safe.

"Can't get rid of him." He told her. He turned to Jack, pointing at the screen, "Jack, what's her name?"

"Gwen Cooper." Jack replied proudly, not really seeing the relevance.

"Tell me, Gwen Cooper," The Doctor asked her, rolling her name off his tongue, "are you from an old Cardiff family?" The woman glanced at her companion then back at the screen.

"Yes. All the way back to the eighteen-hundreds." She explained slowly, confused at what this had to do with Daleks. The Doctor grinned at Rose, who smiled back just as happily considering he'd barely been paying any attention to her. The other Doctor clone had been paying more attention to her, he had grabbed her hand when he'd reached the console just like her Doctor used to do.

"Mm, thought so!Spatial genetic multiplicity..." The motioned between each other, each seeing the resemblance.

"Oh, yeah!" Rose said, highly amused at it.

"Yeah, yeah! It's a funny old world!" He shook his head slightly, snapping him out of the reminiscing, "Now, Torchwood, I want you to open up that Rift Manipulator - send all the power to me."

"Doing it now, sir." Ianto responded, disappearing of the screen to set up what the Doctor had asked him to.

"What's that for?" Martha asked from the side, she understood what the Rift Manipulator did, one of the perks of working for UNIT, but she didn't know why he needed it at maximum power.

"We're going to pull the Earth!" Danni exclaimed, the attitude from the Metacrisis making her want to feel useful.

"It's a tow-rope." The Doctor confirmed before looking over the console at Sarah Jane, "Now then, Sarah - what was your son's name?" He asked.

"Luke, he's called Luke." She told him excitedly, "And the computer's called Mr Smith."

"Calling Luke and Mr Smith!" He called into to monitor, no picture appearing but the signal obviously reaching the other side, "Come on, Luke, shake a leg!"

"Is Mum there?" Luke's voice called anxiously.

"Oh, she's fine and dandy." The Doctor told him. Sarah Jane laughed in relief, throwing her head back in joy.

"Yes! Yes!" She cried, her son was fine.

"Now, Mr Smith, I want you to harness the Rift power and loop it round the TARDIS, you got that?" The Doctor commanded, addressing the computer.

"I regret I will need remote access to TARDIS basecode numerals." He frowned, stepping back from the monitor.

"Oh, blimey." He groaned, "That's gonna take a while." Sarah Jane darted around to the computer, slightly disappointed to not see her son but still ecstatic to know he was okay.

"No, no, no. Let me! K-9, out you come!" There was an electronic sound from the other side of the transmission.

"Affirmative, Mistress!" The retro voice of K-9 confirmed. The Doctor laughed in delight.

"Oh, good dog!" He praised, "K-9, give Mr Smith the basecode!"

"Master. TARDIS basecode now being transferred." The robot dog did as he was asked, "The process is simple." He left the dog to complete it's task as he gently grabbed Sarah Jane by both arms, manoeuvrings Sarah back to her place.

"Now then, you lot," He pointed a lever out to Sarah Jane, "Sarah - hold that. And Mickey - you hold that. Because, you know why this TARDIS is always rattling about the place? Rose - that, there." He indicated controls to each of them as he went around the console, "It was designed to have six pilots and I have to do it single handed." Donna moved back from where she was standing, showing Danni was she was to hold to help pilot the TARDIS.

"Oh no, you can't let her fly it." The Metacrisis snapped, everyone pausing to stare at him surprised, "She'll break something and ruin everything." Donna glared at him, tired of his attitude.

"Now you listen to me, Time Boy..." Donna warned, her hands falling to her hips. She was not about to let him keep treating Danni that way, not considering what she saw from the Doctor's memories. Apparently the Metacrisis was willing to ignore everything they've been through together, but she sure as hell wasn't.

"Donna." Danni said calmly, placing a hand on her arm and snapping her out of her anger, "He's right. You _really_ shouldn't let me touch the console. God knows what I'll do. Plus," She grinned and grabbed Donna's hand, placing it on the handle Donna had pointed out, "It's designed for _six_ pilots, and the Doctor-Donna should always fly the TARDIS." Happy with her answer, but still sending a glare at the Metacrisis for good luck, Donna let her go. The Doctor, studying the interactions carefully, moved over to Martha, showing her a plotter on the console.

"Martha - keep that level. But not anymore!" He continued, "Jack - there you go, steady that. Now we can fly this thing," He reached Jackie, freezing in slight horror at the idea of her flying the TARDIS, "No, Jackie. No, no. Not you." He patted her on the shoulder, "Don't touch anything, just... stand back." He left her side, continuing around the console, "Like it's meant to be flown! We've got..." Danni walked over to Jackie, leaning on the railings next to her.

"He's an idiot sometimes, isn't he?" She asked the blonde woman.

"Yes." She replied instantly, causing Danni to laugh.

"We'll just stand here making the place look better." Jackie nodded, liking the idea and leant against the railing next to her.

"Are you all right, darling?" Jackie asked her gently, having seen the way that new Doctor had spoken to her. Danni nodded.

"Oh I'm fine. I'm just really happy to finally meet you." She held her hand out to Jackie, "I'm Danielle Fielding, it's lovely to meet you Mrs Tyler." Jackie laughed, remembering vaguely something Rose said about her living out of order to everyone else. She pulled the girl into a hug, surprising her slightly.

"Oh come 'ere you." Danni laughed in delight, hugging her back. The Doctor smiled at the pair as they started chatting about everyday life, taking his place at the console next to Donna.

"Right, then! Off we go." Donna dramatically pulled a level, the TARDIS juddering slightly but flying smoothly as they pulled the Earth back to it's rightful place. Both Doctor's began walking around the console, watching their friends fly the TARDIS seamlessly. The Doctor stopped by Rose, pointing to a button on the console.

"Rose." She grinned at him, the Doctor returning it happily as she did as what she was told. He was so happy to see her alive and well, he had missed Rose so much. Donna looked over at Jack pumping a lever in and out of the console as she turned a dial quickly.

"That's really good, Jack. I think you're the best." Jack smirked at her and Danni nudged Jackie with a laugh. The Doctors stood next to the pair, smiling at the sight. All these people, everyone who had touched their lives since the Time War all in one place. It really was a marvellous sight.

_~0~0~0~_

The original Doctor took over from Donna to complete the final part of the manoeuvre, placing the Earth next to the moon where it belonged. Everyone started cheering, turning and hugging whoever they could grab. Rose hugged the Doctor as Donna hugged the Metacrisis, Jack hugged Martha before turning to Sarah Jane. Danni grabbed Mickey who squeezed her so hard he lifted her off the ground with a squeal. That was nice, he obviously had met her before. She had always wanted to meet Mickey. She motioned over to Jack with his head, the pair laughing as Donna wrenched Sarah-Jane from his arms, shoving the woman to one side as she chucked her arms around the handsome man. Danni squealed again as a similar thing happened to her, she was yanked out of Mickey's grasp into to the Doctor's, who spun her around joyfully. He pulled her in for a tight hug, resting his head next to Danni's.

"She's not going to survive this, is she?" He whispered sadly into her ear. She leant back to see him looking down at her sadly, no one else noticing in their joy at their home being safe. Knowing instantly who he was talking about, she shook her head slowly. He winced then pulled her back in for a hug, clinging onto her tightly in sadness this time, rather than the happiness surrounding them. She rubbed his back soothingly, looking over at Donna who still hadn't let Jack go.

_~0~0~0~_

The TARDIS materialised outside a children's play area in a grass-covered park. People walked past it, too caught up in their celebrations of safety to notice the huge blue box or the man and two women who stepped out of it. Sarah Jane gazed around in wonder at the normality of the world outside, children playing on parks and mothers gossiping as if nothing ever happened. In the distance church bells rang out their jubilation. She turned to the Doctor and Danni, both with solemn faces as the thought of what was coming next for Donna.

"You know... you act like such a lonely man." Sarah Jane told him, startling the Doctor slightly, "But look at you! You've got the biggest family on Earth!" He smiled at the thought and she held her arms out for him. He pulled her in for a hug. She let him go and turned to Danni, squeezing her tightly.

"It's so good to see you again." She told the red-head honestly.

"It was lovely meeting you, Sarah Jane." Danni replied. Sarah Jane suddenly let go and began backing away from them.

"Gotta go! He's only fourteen! It's a long story. And thank you!" She rambled as she ran off down the path, looking back and waving at them as she did. The Doctor smiled warmly and waved back as Danni jumped up and down waving.

_~0~0~0~_

As soon as Martha and Jack exited the TARDIS the Doctor grabbed the immortal man's wrist, flipping open his manipulator and used his sonic screwdriver to disable the teleport, despite Jack's protests.

"I TOLD you, no teleport." He scolded the man before turning to Martha, "And Martha, get rid of that Osterhagen thing, eh? Save the world one more time." She nodded with a smile.

"Consider it done." She promised. Danni hugged her tightly, Martha replying with a tight hug of her own.

"We're going to have that tea and scones." Danni told her.

"We do." Martha replied, "We went after 1913. You said that you promised me we'd go, and I asked when. You said not yet." She elaborated at Danni's confused look.

"Sounds like me." Danni admitted and they both laughed. Jack pulled her in for a hug of his own, kissing her on the side of the head before depositing her next to the Doctor once more.

"Visit more often Danni-Girl." He demanded and she laughed.

"You know I would if I could, but I'm too busy following him about." She motioned to the Doctor, who wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her up against his side. Jack and the Doctor shared a fond look over the two women, then Jack saluted the Doctor. Martha followed suit and after blinking in surprise, he shot them a casual one of his own. They turned and walked away, Jack grabbing Martha's hand.

"You know, I'm not sure about UNIT, these days. Maybe there's something else you could be doing..." They heard Jack comment as they watched the pair walk. Behind them the door opened and Mickey strode out, leaving the TARDIS as the three previous had, shooting them both a wave as he did.

"Oi!" The Doctor exclaimed, Mickey stopping in his tracks, "Where are you going?"

"Well, I'm not stupid - I can work out what happens next. And hey, I had a good time in that parallel world but my Gran passed away. Nice and peaceful. Spent her last years living in a mansion. There's nothing there for me, now. Certainly not Rose." He explained with a sad smile.

"What will you do?" The Doctor asked quietly. Mickey took a deep breath and shrugged.

"Anything! Brand new life. Just you watch." Danni pulled him in for a hug before pointing at the retreating figures of Martha and Jack.

"Her name's Martha Jones." Danni told him, "She'll set you right, Mickey." He nodded then turned to the Doctor, the pair knocking fists.

"See you, boss." He winked at the Doctor then ran off to catch up to the pair.

"Hey, you two!" The Doctor took Danni's hand, turning to look up fondly at the TARDIS before taking her inside. The Metacrisis and Rose were stood to one side talking animatedly about their shared memories while Jackie was stood on her own. Donna was by the console, eyeing the Metacrisis and Rose closely. It didn't matter that she knew, as a metacrisis, this wasn't the Doctor she had been travelling with but her human side didn't like her seeing him so close to Rose and acting so mean to Danni. The original Doctor pulled Danni to Donna, who smiled warmly at the sight of the girl. He pulled the monitor towards himself, typing on it's touch screen.

"There's time for one last trip. Dårlig Ulv Stranden." The new Doctor looked at him almost angrily, thinking the same as him he knew what he was about to do and was fuming that he was going to do it, "Better known as Bad Wolf Bay." The TARDIS landed with a small thud and Jackie exited first, looking around the beach in annoyance.

"Ugh, fat lot of good this is! Back of beyond, bloody Norway! I'm gonna have to phone your father. He's on the nursery run." She explained as everyone else followed her onto the wet sand. Rose looked around, confused and worried as to why he had brought her back. Maybe it was so she could say goodbye to her mum. Jackie turned to the new Doctor who had fallen into step with her, "I was pregnant, do you remember? Had a baby boy!" The new Doctor grinned at her.

"Ah, brilliant! What did you call him?"

"Doctor." She told him proudly. The new Doctor paused in surprise, looking very touched at the thought.

"Really?" He asked and she rolled her eyes.

"No, you plum. He's called Tony!"

"Hold on, this is the parallel universe, right?" Rose asked, finally so worried she had to speak up. There was no way he'd leave her here again, was there?

"You're back home." He told her and her heart broke. He really was.

"And the walls of the world are closing again... now that the Reality Bomb never happened. It's dimension retroclosure." The new Doctor smiled at her, "See, I really get that stuff now."

"No, but I spent all that time trying to find you, I'm not going back now!" Rose exclaimed, tears in her eyes. The Doctor stepped towards her.

"But you've got to. Because we saved the universe, but at a cost. And the cost is him." He looked over at the new Doctor, "He destroyed the Daleks. He committed genocide. He's too dangerous to be left on his own."

"You made me!" The new Doctor snapped angrily.

"Exactly, you were born in battle - full of blood and anger and revenge." The Doctor replied, looking down at Rose, "Remind you of someone? That's me. When we first you made me better. And now you can do the same for him." Rose looked at him, tears falling before looking over at the two ginger woman.

"Is it because of Danni? Is that why you're leaving me here, because of her?" She asked. She had to know, she'd seen his behaviour with her friend since the moment she'd met back up with them again. It was how he used to behave around her, always holding hands and sticking together. But it was so much more as well. The way he'd glared at Davros when he'd tried to separate them, he'd never looked at anyone like that because of her before.

"No, this has nothing to do with Danni." The Doctor told her firmly, "This is where you belong now, Rose."

"But he's not you." She insisted, frustrated. He was lying, she could tell. He'd forgotten her and moved onto Danni, just like she knew he would. She just didn't expect him to do it while there was still a chance of them finally being together.

"He needs you. That's very me." He replied quietly.

"But it's better than that, though." Donna called over, "Don't you see what he's trying to give you?" She looked past them at the new Doctor, "Tell her, go on." Rose turned around, bewildered and heartbroken to face the new Doctor in his old suit, just like she remembered him.

"I look like him and I think like him... same memories, same thoughts, same everything. Except, I've only got one heart." He explained.

"Which means?" Rose pressed.

"I'm part Human. Specifically the ageing part. I'll grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life... Rose Tyler." He spoke her name purposefully, "I could spend it with you. If you want."

"You'll grow- grow old at the same time as me?" She asked and he nodded.

"Together." Rose reached out tentatively, placing a hand on his chest and feeling the one heart beating underneath his clothes. Danni, seeing the uncertainty on her face, walked over and tapped her on the arm, causing her to turn to face her.

"And it's better than that." She told her gently, "Because he may have been created using Donna and the Doctor's regeneration energy, but that just means he's seen their memories, he didn't live it. He's an earlier version of the Doctor." She looked up at the new Doctor who was eyeing her distrustfully, "I'm right, aren't I?" He nodded once, conceding her point. She turned back to Rose, "He's the version from the Sycorax, from when his hand was cut off. Which means he hates me." Rose's eyes shone with a slight bit of hope at that statement, "And he hates me because of you. The Doctor, thankfully, got over that, but he hasn't. He hasn't gotten over _anything_." Rose turned back to face him, seeing the new Doctor smiling lovingly back at her. The TARDIS made a grinding noise and everyone spun to stare at it.

"We've gotta go. This reality's sealing itself off." The original Doctor called over, "Forever." Danni reached up and kissed Rose's cheek, who had begun crying.

"I'm so sorry." Danni whispered before running over to catch up with the Doctor and Donna who had started walking to the TARDIS. The Doctor grabbed Danni's hand and she squeezed back reassuringly as Rose ran after them.

"But it's still not right." The Doctor looked back at her, "Because... the Doctor's... still you."

"And I'm him." The Doctor nodded towards his duplicate, who joined them, one on either side of her.

"All right. Both of you, answer me this." She looked between the two, "When I last stood on this beach on the worst day of my life... what was the last thing you said to me?" She looked up at the original Doctor, urging him to say anything, "Go on, say it."

"I said, 'Rose Tyler'." He replied,

"Yeah, and how was that sentence going to end?" She asked expectantly, eyes wide. He smiled gently down at her and shook his head.

"No." He told her apologetically. She stared at him, a broken look on her face before turning to the new Doctor.

"And you, Doctor? What was the end of that sentence?" The new Doctor placed a hand on her arm, leaning down and whispering the end of the sentence to her, telling her the words that original Doctor wasn't willing to say to her. Rose then pulled him down by the lapels of his suit, placing a kiss on his lips, eyes squeezed shut as she pretended he was the Doctor. The Doctor swallowed and turned way, leading Danni away as the new Doctor returned the kiss. They entered the TARDIS and Donna headed straight to the controls, flying them back to the other universe while Danni stood with the Doctor, hands clasped.

"I thought we could try the planet Felspoon... just 'cos." Donna rambled as she paced around the console, "What a good name, 'Felspoon'. Apparently it's got mountains that sway in the breeze. Mountains that move. Can you imagine?" She twisted a knob purposefully, looking smugly at the solemn pair proudly.

"And how do you know that?" The Doctor asked her quietly.

"Because it's in your head! And if it's in your head, it's in mine." She replied happily, continuing to pace.

"And how does that feel?" He asked her.

"Brilliant! Fantastic! Molto bene! Great bit of universe packed into my brain. You know you could fix that chameleon circuit if you just try and hotbind in the fragment links and superseding the binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary..." She took a deep breath, breaking out of the repetition she found herself in,"I'm fine!" She told the pair brightly, trying to hide the tears that had built up in her eyes. The Doctor straightened next to Danni, watching her sadly.

"Donna..." Danni called gently.

"Nah, never-mind Felspoon." Donna interrupted loudly, "You know who I'd like to meet? Charlie Chaplin. I've heard he's great, Charlie Chaplin. Shall we do that? Shall we go and see Charlie Chaplin?" She picked up the phone off the console, "Shall we? Charlie Chaplin? Charlie Chester, Charlie Brown. No, he's fiction, friction, fiction, fixen, mixen, rixten, brixton..." She gasped and doubled over, the pain becoming a bit too much. The Doctor and Danni slowly walked over to her as she panted, holding her head, "Oh, my God."

"Do you know what's happening?" The Doctor asked her. She straightened slowly, nodding.

"Yeah." She admitted reluctantly.

"There's never been a Human-Time Lord metacrisis before now. And you know why." He continued, voice low.

"Because there can't be." Donna whispered. She took a deep breath, turning away from him and playing with the controls, "I want to stay."

"Look at me." The Doctor asked her, but she kept fiddling with the controls, "Donna, look at me." She turned to face him slowly, fighting the urge to break down and cry.

"I was gonna be with you... forever. " She told them both shakily.

"I know." He replied.

"The rest of my life... travelling... in the TARDIS. The Doctor-Donna." She finished. The Doctor stared back at her silently as she figured out what he was about to do, "No. Oh, my God..." She began stepping back from him, shaking her head as the tears began to fall. He stepped towards her and took her by the shoulders, "I can't go back. Don't make me go back. Doctor... please. Please, don't make me go back." She turned to Danni, "Please, Danni, tell him. Tell him to let me stay."

"I can't." Danni told her sadly, "I'm sorry."

"This can't be it, because you would have told me." Donna insisted, "You wouldn't have let me believe it was for forever." Danni started crying with her.

"How could I tell you this?" She replied. Donna looked back up at the Doctor fearfully.

"Donna. Oh, Donna Noble. I am so, so sorry." He apologised as she trembled underneath his hands, "But we had the best of times. The best." He shot his last smile at her, "Goodbye." He placed his fingers on her temples, closing her eyes as she tried to break away from him.

"No. No, please! Please! No, NO! No!" She begged as he erased her memory, "NO!" She fell unconscious, the Doctor catching her just before she hit the ground, hugging her to him with his eyes closed.

_~0~0~0~_

Wilfred Motts ran for his front door as someone hammered frantically on it, a skip in his step.

"Oh, that must be her!" He called to his daughter, "Donna?" He opened the door to see Danni stood there, tears running down her face. He looked down to see the Doctor on the floor with Donna, cradling her in his arms.

"Help me." He begged urgently. Wilf nodded and bent down anxiously, helping the Doctor scoop up his granddaughter off the floor.

"Donna? Donna?" With Danni holding the doors open for them they lifted her into her bedroom, lying her on top of her purple duvet to let her sleep. Wilf went downstairs to explain to his daughter that Donna was alive while Danni and the Doctor watched her sleep. Danni walked over to Donna and placed a kiss on her forehead, squeezing her eyes closed as she did.

"Goodbye Donna." She whispered before walking over to the Doctor and grabbing his hand, "We need to go explain to them what's happened."

_~0~0~0~_

"She took my mind into her own head. But that's a Time Lord consciousness." The Doctor explained to Wilf and Sylvia. He was sat on the sofa in their living room, Danni next to him holding still holding his hand, "All that knowledge - it was killing her." Wilf leant forward in the sofa across from them, distraught.

"But she'll get better, now?" he asked hopefully.

"I had to wipe her mind, completely. Every trace of me, Danni or the TARDIS... everything we did together, anywhere we went... had to go." He told them.

"All those wonderful things she did." Wilf exclaimed mournfully.

"I know. But that version of Donna is dead." He told them quietly, "Because if she remembers, just for a second, she'll burn up. You can never tell her. You can't mention me, or Danni or any of it... for the rest of her life."

"But the whole world's talking about it." Sylvia protested, "We travelled across space!"

"It'll just be a story. One of those Donna Noble stories, where she missed it all again."

"But she was better with you." Wilf sobbed, the thought of his granddaughter falling back into the life she had before she met the Doctor hurting him.

"Don't say that..." Sylvia hissed. He turned to her.

"No, she was." He told her angrily.

"I just want you to know that there are worlds out there, safe in the sky, because of her." He told them, pulling their attention back to the pair on the sofa in front of them, "That there are people living in the light, singing songs of Donna Noble, a thousand million light-years away... they will never forget her. While she can never remember. And for one moment... one shining moment... she was the most important woman in the whole wide universe." He finished, voice hollow in his grief as Danni turned to him, eyes narrowed angrily.

"She was always the most important woman in the universe." She snapped, "Don't you dare say otherwise."

"And he still is. She's my daughter." Sylvia added abruptly. Danni turned back to face the woman.

"Then tell her that." She demanded, "Let her know you care, because you sure as hell haven't been doing that so far." Donna burst into the room, startling them both and breaking the moment.

"I was asleep, ON my bed, IN my clothes, like a flippin' kid! What did you let me do that for?!" She exclaimed, glancing briefly at the man and woman on the sofa, feeling a sense of deja vu before shrugging it off, "Don't mind me. Donna." They both stood up, the Doctor holding his hand out.

"John Smith." She shook his hand distractedly while Danni waved weakly at her.

"Danielle."

"Mr and Mrs Smith was just leaving." Sylvia said pointedly, but Donna didn't really care as she flicked through her mobile phone.

"My phone's gone mad! Thirty-two texts, Veena's gone barmy, she's saying planets in the sky - WHAT have I missed now? Nice to meet you." She said to the pair as she left to ring her friend.

"Like I said: I think you should go." Sylvia said coldly, not wanting them to do any further damage to her daughter than they already had. As they stepped into the hallway, Danni turned to the Doctor.

"Go say goodbye to her." She told him gently.

"It doesn't matter, she doesn't remember me."

"It's not for her. Go." She pushed him gently towards the kitchen. He smiled gratefully at her before heading into the room, Danni turning on her heel and heading to the TARDIS, leaving him to have his final moments with Donna alone.

_~0~0~0~_

The Doctor stood silently by the console, soaking wet from the rain that had begun to fall as he had entered the TARDIS. He watched the rota fall and rise gently, the TARDIS doing her best to keep quiet for the mourning pair. He chucked his jacket onto the console and turned to face Danni, as she sat in the pilot seat, still crying. She hadn't even flinched as he had entered, just stared into space as the tears ran silently down her face. He hated it, his hearts were already breaking for Donna, but seeing her sitting there almost unaware of how much she was crying.

"She's very happy." Danni stated, startling him out of his thoughts, "She gets married, someone gives her a lottery ticket as a wedding present and she wins the jackpot. I guess she has kids, I don't see her without them really. But..." She turned to him, "Sometimes, just doing everyday things Wilf catches her staring into the distance, looking so sad. Because she knows she's forgotten something so important, but she has no idea what and all she knows is that it breaks her heart. Then, she'll smile because she forgets she's forgotten." She looked down at her knees, "And everytime I think of Donna, be it early or late Donna, my heart hurts for them moments she feels sad." She bowed her head, her hands clasping at her hair, "I should have saved her, but I was too much of a bloody coward. I did this to her." The Doctor knelt down in front of her, removing her hands from her hair and making her look at him.

"Was there another way?" he asked her gently. She shrugged, her breath hitching in her throat.

"I don't know, maybe." She admitted, "I only know it this way, you may have come up with something else if I'd told you what was going to happen."

"But what if I hadn't?" He replied gently, "What if this is the only way the universe was going to be saved? Donna wouldn't have thanked you for saving her over the universe." She started sobbing and she chucked her arms around him.

"I'm so sorry." she sobbed, "I'm so, so sorry." He held onto her tightly, "I don't want you to be alone. I've never wanted that." He laughed humourlessly in her ear.

"But I'm not." He replied, turning his head slightly so they could see each other, "I'll always have you, won't I Danni-Girl?" She smiled shakily and nodded.

"I do appear far into your future." She told him and he forced a smile onto his face.

"Then I'll be fine." he told her. She pushed back, looking down at her arm, her heart dropping as she felt that familiar burning, one that barely hurt anymore but still killed her everytime she felt it.

"Oh no. Please." She begged before appearing in her room on the TARDIS. She crawled onto the bed and curled up in the middle of it all alone, sobbing to herself for a moment before wiping her eyes and taking a deep, shuddering breath. She stood up and walked over to her mirror, looking at her bright red face and messy hair. She ran her hand through her hair, trying to flatten it down before giving it up as a bad job. She took another deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

"Afterword, by Amelia Williams..."

_~0~0~0~_

_That's it! The last chapter of this part of the story! I can't believe I actually finished it! Go me! *cheers*_

_I hope you all liked my reason for the Metacrisis not liking Danni. I wanted to give Rose another reason for accepting him, because I just don't think 'he looks like me, has my memories and ages properly' is a good enough reason to accept him, so I just wanted to add something more._

_So, The Time Child: Insanity Calling will be posted at some point on Tuesday, and I'm really looking forward to it so I hope you're all as excited as I am about it XD_

_Reviews have hit 350! I can't believe it! I just want to thank you all for sticking with me through this, and hope that you'll join me in the next part of Danni's story. I appreciate every single person who takes the time to read this, so... thank you XD *big group virtual hug*_

_As for reviews..._

_Hehe, love everyones reaction to Metacrisis, all the anger sent his way because of his attitude towards Danni makes me smile XD Loving 'Mean Meta-Doctor-Donna', made me giggle when I read it :)_

_Have changed both the sentences you pointed out, Lex, if you can remember the third I'll change that as well. I've really appreciated all you help, so you can have a virtual hug all of your own *hugs* As for the the 'Time Child' reference, Caan does use it here but that's not where it comes from because it'll be used even earlier in the Doctor's time line *mwahahaha* How's that for a tease? XD Hehe and I'm glad you like the flirting, I thought if I had the Doctor with Donna's boldness they would probably flirt a lot, so I chucked it in for my own amusement really XD_

_EDIT: Changed the other mistakes as well. Some of them were so silly it was embarrassing, thanks for not laughing at me when you told me them XD_

_And I'll see ya'll Tuesday xxxxxxx_


End file.
